[OV]
A Series of Articles
written by
Pastor Charles Taze Russell
for the
OVERLAND MONTHLY
Founded 1868 Bret Harte
San Francisco
The "OVERLAND MONTHLY" magazine was a publication started by the journalist and author, Francis Bret Harte, and published in San Francisco, California.
In late 1908 they requested Pastor Charles Taze Russell to write a series of articles on "The Divine Purpose" which began to appear in February, 1909.
The response to this series was so large that his articles on a variety of subjects continued to appear monthly until his death on October 31, 1916.
This book is a collection of these articles. They have been reproduced from Xerox copies of the original magazine articles which accounts for the lack or reproduction quality on certain pages.
[OVTOC]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Divine Program--The Living and True God.......................... 1
The Divine Program--Why a Mystery?................................... 4
The Divine Program--Bible In the Light of Reason..................... 8
The Divine Program--Permission of Evil............................... 14
The Divine Program--Redemption from the Curse........................ 20
The Divine Program--Epochs and Dispensations......................... 26
The Divine Program--Predestination and Election...................... 31
The Divine Program--Judgment of Great White Throne................... 37
The Divine Program--Millennial Kingdom............................... 44
The Divine Program--Kingdoms of this World Supervised................ 49
The Divine Program--Messiah's Second Coming.......................... 55
The Divine Program--Great Day of His Wrath........................... 58
God's Chosen People--Faith the Foundation of Jewish Character........ 63
God's Chosen People--Hope Long Deferred Now Reviving................. 67
God's Chosen People--Israel's "Double"--Fact and Theory.............. 73
God's Chosen People--Chastened "Seven Times"--2520 Years............. 79
God's Chosen People--Jubilee of Restoration.......................... 84
God's Chosen People--Israel's New Covenant........................... 89
God's Chosen People--Passover of the First-Borns..................... 93
God's Chosen People--Their Sabbath and Jubilee....................... 99
God's Chosen People--Great Day of Atonement.......................... 103
God's Chosen People--Zionism is God's Call........................... 108
God's Chosen People--Must Jews Become Christians in Order to Receive
Divine Favor?....................................................... 113
God's Chosen People--Should Jews and Christians Unite?............... 117
Pastor Russell's Reply to Cardinal Gibbons' Sermon................... 121
Infant One Hundred Years Old to Be Electrocuted...................... 127
Cardinal Gibbons and Pastor Russell.................................. 132
The Immortality of the Soul.......................................... 135
China's Prayer to One of Messiah's Kingdoms.......................... 140
"World That Was," "Present Evil World," and the "World To Come"...... 144
A Clean Thing Out of an Unclean...................................... 149
Jews Not to be Converted to Christianity............................. 153
Pastor Russell and the Monitor--Part I............................... 158
Pastor Russell and the Monitor--Part II.............................. 165
Civil Baptism in France.............................................. 171
The Greatest Thing in the Universe................................... 174
Songs of the Night................................................... 176
A Joyful Message for the Sin-Sick.................................... 179
Paradise Better Than Honolulu........................................ 183
The Church Militant's Surrender to the Church Triumphant............. 187
The Reign of Messiah................................................. 191
The Japanese Complimented............................................ 195
Be Content With Your Wages........................................... 199
Weeping All Night.................................................... 202
Every Idle Word...................................................... 207
Refrain Thy Voice from Weeping and Thine Eyes from Tears............. 212
Pastor Russell Not a "Socialist"..................................... 218
Our Lord's Return.................................................... 224
The Golden Rule...................................................... 229
Creed Smashings Necessary for Federation--Congregational,
Presbyterian, Methodist............................................. 234
Changes of Creeds Necessary for Baptists, Adventists and
Disciples for Federation............................................ 238
Episcopalian, Catholic, Lutheran--What These Creeds Surrender
to Enter Church Federation.......................................... 243
Thrust in Thy Sickle................................................. 248
The Two Salvations................................................... 252
The Great White Throne: Day of Judgment Misunderstood................ 255
God in the Home...................................................... 256
A Famine in the Land................................................. 259
Pains of Hell Explained to Us........................................ 263
The Battle of Armageddon............................................. 268
The Sabbath Day...................................................... 278
The True Church...................................................... 284
Man's Fall from Divine Favor......................................... 288
God in the Home...................................................... 292
Christendom in Great Danger.......................................... 294
Satan's Ambition--Jesus' Ambition.................................... 298
Satan the Murderer--Murderer to Die.................................. 303
Fatal Ambition--Noble Ambition....................................... 306
The Great White Throne: Day of Judgment Misunderstood................ 311
How and What to Fight................................................ 313
Messiah's Fast Approaching Kingdom................................... 318
Imminence of Christ's Kingdom........................................ 322
The Miraculous Birth of Jesus........................................ 327
Three Men and Two Women Whom Jesus Loved............................. 331
Financial, Ecclesiastical and Social Shakings........................ 336
World-Wide Theocracy................................................. 340
Exposition of the Justice of the Day of Vengeance.................... 344
The New Day Dawns.................................................... 348
Jesus Died a Human--Raised a Spirit Being............................ 352
What is a Christian? What His Standards?............................. 356
Two Escape from Hell--No Torment There!.............................. 361
Value of Ideals to Church and World.................................. 366
Is Christian Science Reasonable?..................................... 371
Is Christian Science Scriptural?..................................... 376
Church's Birth Due Now; World's Due Later--During Millennium......... 378
Golden Age at Hand................................................... 383
Twenty Billion Slaves to be Freed.................................... 387
Sowing to Self and Sin--Reaping Corruption........................... 392
Bishop--Apostle's Costly Mistake..................................... 394
Conditions of Acceptable, Effective Prayer........................... 400
God's Justice and Love Perfectly Poised.............................. 405
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day--Part I........................... 410
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day--Part II.......................... 414
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day--Part III......................... 419
Jehovah's Saintly Jewels............................................. 422
The Church's Hope--The World's Hope.................................. 427
Nations "Weighed in the Balances".................................... 432
Life of Pastor Russell--by E. D. Stewart............................. 435
The Late Pastor Russell--by J. F. Rutherford......................... 442
POEMS
The Word of Truth.................................................... 13
If We Only Understood................................................ 25
The Coming Storm..................................................... 30
One Here, One There.................................................. 36
Take Heart........................................................... 48
Is It For Me?........................................................ 54
Lord Jesus, Make Thyself to Me....................................... 57
To Jesus Always...................................................... 62
Press On............................................................. 66
Only a Little While.................................................. 72
Just For Today....................................................... 78
The Beam That Shines................................................. 88
What Would Jesus Do?................................................. 92
The Wrath of God..................................................... 102
The Rose............................................................. 112
Great Truths......................................................... 126
The Master's Touch................................................... 134
Patience............................................................. 148
Sweet Day of Rest.................................................... 170
Build a Little Fence................................................. 175
Sometimes I Almost Wonder............................................ 178
There Are Great Truths............................................... 182
In the Presence of the King.......................................... 201
Sometime We'll Understand............................................ 206
If I Could Know...................................................... 211
A Little While....................................................... 221
Broken Purposes...................................................... 228
A Cup of Cold Water.................................................. 233
Oh! To be Ready...................................................... 258
Amen! Amen!.......................................................... 267
The Peace of Europe.................................................. 277
Father, Take My Hand................................................. 287
Jesus Only........................................................... 291
O Love, Our Refuge................................................... 293
The Lord be With You................................................. 297
What a Friend We Have in Jesus....................................... 300
Lead Me.............................................................. 310
Show Me Thy Face..................................................... 317
Endurance............................................................ 326
Our Bow of Promise................................................... 330
The Sweet-Brier Rose................................................. 335
This Too Will Pass................................................... 336
The Day of His Preparation........................................... 339
Trust................................................................ 343
Prayer of the Consecrated............................................ 355
Gideon's Army in Antitype............................................ 360
Communion With Our Father............................................ 365
Disappointments...................................................... 370
His Will, Not Mine, Be Done.......................................... 375
And There Was a Great Calm........................................... 382
Lord, Give Me This................................................... 391
Some Glad, Sweet Day................................................. 399
The Day Is at Hand................................................... 404
The Word of God...................................................... 409
Christ Within........................................................ 413
O What if We Are Christ's............................................ 414
Whom Will Ye Serve?.................................................. 421
How Readest Thou?.................................................... 426
How Strong and Sweet My Father's Care................................ 431
Will His Work Endure................................................. 441
Lights Along the Shore............................................... 448
[OV1]
FEBRUARY, 1909
No. 2 OVERLAND MONTHLY Vol. LIII
Founded 1868 Bret Harte
San Francisco
PLYMOUTH--BETHEL
PEOPLE'S PULPIT
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
This article is the first of a series of twelve on a most important theme by Pastor Russell, of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Pastor Russell is widely known, both as a writer and speaker on homiletic themes. --EDITOR OVERLAND MONTHLY.
I.--"The Living and True God."
THE STRUCTURE of the brain places veneration at the very top, and thus, by implication, confirms the statement of the catechism that "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." However great the depravity of our race in the dark places of the earth, this element of veneration, of an instinctive appreciation of a God and a feeling of responsibility toward him constitutes a foundation upon which to build, to reconstruct, to reorganize the depraved elements of character. Without this fulcrum, missionaries and philanthropists might well lose all heart and all hope in respect to the moral and social uplift of the masses and the classes. Whoever, therefore, is intelligently a friend to his race must do everything in his power to maintain this center of mental balance of mind and to utilize it as an essential feature in the Divine arrangement for human well-being. Whoever in any manner or degree undermines this element of the mind is surely doing a destructive work, instead of a constructive one, whether he realizes the fact or not.
But, alas, that we must say it! Some of the most intelligent of our most intellectual day are rapidly drifting away from the fundamental truth that there is a living and true God. These intellectuals are accepting the thought of an impersonal God, which, from our standpoint, is tantamount to saying, "There is no living and true God." This is the position taken, not only by theosophists and Christian Scientists, but also by many scientific and professional thinkers. Rarely is an attempt made to define the impersonal God. Rather the term God is used merely as a concession to popular sentiment and the "ignorance of the unlearned." Those who hold this view often use the word nature as a synonym for God. Their thought really seems to be that there is no intelligent creator in the universe; that our sun [OV2] and stars and planets are governed by what they term "natural laws," and that humanity prospers and progresses merely as it learns by experience the operation of these laws, and seeks co-operation and avoids conflict with them.
Christian Science, dealing less with the scholastic and more with the ordinary reason, attempts to explain that the word God simply signifies Good. And then, with something of a play upon words, which confounds the reasoning faculties of the untrained mind, they tell us that whatever is useful is good, and therefore is God. Proceeding with the explanation, they declare that every tree and rock have good or usefulness in them, and hence to that extent have God in them. Elaborating further, they say that God is in the air, because of its vitalizing effect; he is in the flower because of its goodness and usefulness for beauty and fragrance; he is in the tea-kettle, because of its usefulness; likewise in the chair, the table, the floor, the ceiling--everything. Whoever entertains such views proportionately destroys his faith in a personal God, "The Living and True God," and in the Bible as his revelation.
How could an impersonal God have a purpose, a will, a plan, a program? And how could he give a revelation of that purpose or program in the Bible or otherwise? "He that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." He shall be found of them. He will reveal his true character to them. "He that seeketh findeth."
But our Christian Science friends meet our objection with the assertion that Buddhists and Theosophists hold the same and represent a large proportion of the human family. Furthermore, they claim that the same thought of an impersonal God is taught in all the principal creeds of Christendom, when they declare faith in an omni-present God! Alas, we must admit that the charge is well founded; that the seed of error on this subject was planted in our minds and confessions of faith long ago. Be it noticed, however, that this inconsistency cannot be charged against the Bible, for, although our confessions of Faith were ostensibly made to be in harmony with the Scriptures, the truth is, that not one word of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, declares Divine Omni-presence, but every utterance on the subject affirms the personality of the Father, and that our Lord Jesus is the "express image of his person."-- Heb. 1:3.
"God is a Spirit," but he is a being, a person. The Scriptures distinctly tell us that a spirit has not flesh and body, as we have, but they as distinctly inform us of the Divine personality and use the members and qualities of the human body to bring the Creator within the range of our apprehension. The Hand of the Lord (his Divine power), and the Eye of the Lord (his Divine wisdom) are in every place. The Ear of the Lord is bowed down to hear the groaning of the prisoner. And the Heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. Heaven is his Throne and the earth is his footstool. True, these expressions are pictorial, figurative; nevertheless they figure not an impersonal Creator, but a personal one, who feels, who thinks, who exercises his power; who has displeasure with those who are sinful and loves those who seek to do his will; to walk in the paths of righteousness.
Whoever cultivates this thought of a righteous, personal God, assists in establishing his own heart along lines of corresponding character. He seeks a further knowledge of such a Creator; seeks his compassion and his protecting care, and learns to love him, as he could never appreciate nor love Nature nor any disorganized conception of a space-pervading non-entity. He whose mind and heart grasps the Scriptural Personality of the Heavenly Father catches the significance of our Savior's words, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows."
Such may worship in spirit and in truth proportionate to their knowledge of the Infinite One, whom they were directed to address, "Our Father, which art in heaven." Thinking of the Almighty as everywhere present is entirely unsatisfactory to our comprehension, which calls for a God whose throne is in heaven. This was [OV3] the same thought that our Savior again impressed on the women who met him after his resurrection. To these he said: "I have not yet ascended to my Father, and to your Father; to my God and to your God." Thus the general trend of Scriptural testimony confirms the thought which we receive by nature, and intensifies and elaborates it, by giving location and quality of heart and mind and power. Regardless of the truth of the two theories, the Bible presentation is surely the one most helpful to humanity. To have no personal God must eventually signify to the reasoning mind no Law-Giver, no Judge, no justice, no love, no mercy, no personal relationship, as between father and child. Thus would be lost the very basis of Christian faith and doctrine.
The Scriptural presentation of the Almighty is, therefore, the one most consistent to our reason and most helpful to us, namely, that he is a great God, infinite in his wisdom, his justice, his love and his power. His personality has heaven for his locality, but his influence and powers pervade the universe. We may but imperfectly imagine the various channels of his information and the innumerable agencies through which he can exercise the Almighty Power. But in the light of present day invention, we have at least suggestions of it, for cannot man communicate by wireless telegraphy over hundreds of miles? And not only so, but cannot he use the Hertz-waves for the transmission of power? And can he not with the telescope greatly enlarge his vision, and with the microscope see things otherwise indiscernible?
And if puny man, imperfect and fallen, "Born in sin and shapen in iniquity and of few days and full of trouble," can thus enlarge his natural powers, what limitations might he justly or wisely set upon the intelligence and power of his Creator? "He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that formed the ear, shall he not hear?" He that gave to humans our sense of justice, shall we not consider him the very Embodiment of Justice? He who gave to us the power of sympathy and compassion and love, shall we not consider him, the Author of our powers, as infinitely superior to the very highest of our human ideals?
For our present purpose it is not even necessary that we be believers in the Bible in order to formulate before our minds something of the glorious character and attributes of our Maker. True, correct views of the teachings of the Scriptures will surely aid us in our conceptions, but at this time we are addressing not merely believers in the Scripture, but also unbelievers. We urge, then, that rational thought on the subject bids us believe that man is the highest type of earthly intelligence, and this teaches us that there must be an intelligent Creator as much superior to us as we are to the crawling worm. Yea, more than this, that he who gave us our intelligent being must be separated from us by a still wider gulf than that which separates us from the worm, because we cannot even create a worm. And it is but a logical process of reasoning that the noblest of our talents and powers are but feeble reflections of the same qualities in our Creator. From this standpoint, how great is the God which our intelligent reason would picture! How worthy of our reverence, our devotion, our love, our service! The Scriptures assist us by showing that the blemishes which we find in ourselves and others are results of disobedience to the Divine instruction--the results of the fall from the more particular image and likeness of our Creator.
Filled with so noble a conception of Deity, we would naturally hasten to worship and bow down, but are stopped by the voices from the Dark Ages, which misrepresent the Almighty, implying that he is not the embodiment of justice, wisdom, love and power. These voices assure us that, although we are commanded to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate us and persecute us and say all manner of evil against us falsely, nevertheless the Almighty, who gave these commands, does not love or forgive his enemies, and does them good but inadequately, and has made preparation for their eternal torture. There is something wholly inconsistent between these voices from the past and the voice of our reason. It is claimed by many that the Bible substantiates the voices of the Dark Ages, the creeds, but we hold that this is a mistake, partly attributable to poor translation and partly to misunderstood parables. The reasoning mind [OV4] surely rebels against the theory which in the Dark Ages held sway and led to the Inquisition and the stake. And it is glad that it has gotten rid of so gross a misconception of the "Father of Lights." A well-balanced and reverential intellect will rejoice to find and to recognize a God that not only is not devoid of justice, wisdom, love and power, and on a plane lower than our own, but who, on the contrary, is infinite in these attributes and worthy of our reverence and worship.
We assent that the Divine Word, the Bible, has been greatly misrepresented by us all in the past, and deserves reconsideration.
If our forefathers read the Bible with smoking lamps and blurred vision, and nevertheless got some blessing, what a power of God it should be to us now, if, in the light of the electric arc, we should find it the store-house of Divine grace and truth, perfectly co-ordinated and surpassing our highest ideals!
[OV4]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
II. WHY A MYSTERY?
HAVING SEEN in the light of reason that we have a personal Creator, infinite in wisdom, justice, love and power, and having claimed that the Bible is the Revelation of the Divine Purpose, the question properly arises: Why is it, to so large a degree, a Book of parables, symbolisms and dark sayings? Why is it not so open and clear that the way-faring man need not err therein? Why is it that Doctors of Divinity find it perplexing, mysterious, incomprehensible? What excuse can be offered for mysteries in connection with a subject in which all should be interested? The answer to these questions opens the outer door to the temple of truth, to a proper appreciation of the Bible as the Word of God. And we note at the beginning that the Bible most distinctly declares itself to be a Book of Mysteries. The four Gospels of the New Testament, supposed to be the simplest and plainest portion of the Book, mainly records of our Lord's deeds and words, declare, in harmony with the Prophecies, that the Great Teacher himself delivered his message in parables and dark sayings, and that "Without a parable spake he not unto the people," that "Hearing they might hear and not understand; and seeing, they might see and not perceive."-- Matt. 13:14.
Wherever we go, whether in heathen or in civilized lands, we find the most intelligent people associating themselves in various secret societies. They do indeed make prominent certain general objects, which these societies profess to serve--but more than this, the public are not to know. Their secrets are carefully guarded by grips and signs and pass-words and vows. There is a reason for this secrecy, too. It is to prevent the methods and operations of the societies becoming known to those not in sympathy with them, who might seek to frustrate them. What shall we say if we find that our Creator, for similar reasons, has kept secrets from alienated mankind many of his purposes? And would it seem strange if we should find that those in fullest harmony with their Maker should proportionately be granted a knowledge of the Divine purposes hidden from others? We hold that these are the facts--that the Bible so declares.
In a word, from the Scriptural standpoint, Jehovah God was the organizer of the most remarkable secret society known [OV5] to men up to the present time! The Jewish Church was a kind of Junior Order and prepared the way for the Gospel Church, which for nearly nineteen centuries has constituted the great Divine Secret Society. True, there are many nominally associated who are hypocrites and who have neither part nor lot in the Society, its privileges, its blessings and its secrets. Then there are others who have taken the first step or degree, and who are thus privileged to know the merest rudiments of the Divine Purpose. Others have taken the second and subsequent degrees, and have grown in grace and knowledge, having become wise with the wisdom which cometh from above. Let us prove from the Bible that there are such secrets of the Divine Purpose, and that they are revealed to some and not possible to be understood by others. Do not the Scriptures declare that "The secret of the Lord is with them that reverence him, and he will show them his covenant?"--Psa. 25:14.
Did not St. Paul declare: "The mystery hid from all ages and generations is now made manifest to his saints?" (Col. 1:26.) Note well that this mystery is not made known to the world, but unto the saints --and in proportion as they are saintly. Note again that our Redeemer, addressing the Father, said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." (Matt. 11:25-26.) Hearken to his words again when asked of his disciples why he spoke to the people in parables and dark sayings; he responded, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand."--Mark 4:11-12.
There is one prominent difference between the operation of the Lord's Secret Society and the worldly ones. The latter have great difficulty in preserving their secrets, while the former has no difficulty. While the Lord's people are advised not to cast their pearls of knowledge before the swinish, it is not because the latter might understand and thwart the Divine Purposes or reveal the Divine Secret, but, as he expressed it, "Lest they turn again and rend you." Otherwise God's people may tell anything and everything they please, to the extent of their knowledge, respecting the Divine Mysteries, but the while should know that none can understand these mysteries except the initiated --the spirit begotten. Mark the Apostle's clear expression on this subject: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world. ...We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory....God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit: for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." --1 Cor. 2:6,7,10,14.
Proceeding, the Apostle shows the necessity for this secretiveness as respects the Divine Purpose--shows that if it were generally known amongst men, the Divine program would at times be interfered with. He tells us that none of the princes or prominent ones of the world understand this wisdom of God--for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. It is with them, as it was previously foretold by the Prophet Isaiah (64:4). "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.... We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the holy spirit teacheth."--1 Cor. 2:8-13.
We shall assume that we have established our point; that there is a mystery connected with the Divine purpose, and that it can be understood only in proportion as any shall come into harmony with God, and is understood completely only by the spirit-begotten and fully developed saints of God. We may proceed to show from the Bible additionally that the Revelation of this mystery, even to the "saints" was to be a gradual one, whereby the mysteries, [OV6] the secrets, would become "meat in due season to the Household of Faith." (Matt. 24:45.) For instance, our Lord at his first advent declared to his followers: "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." (John 16:12.) In the same connection he promised that in the future, as due, these still hidden things would be gradually revealed according to the necessities of his followers. A full knowledge of the mystery of the Lord was not promised until the end of this Gospel Age, when, under the sounding of the seventh symbolical trumpet, "the mystery of God shall be finished," which he hath kept secret from the foundation of the world.--Rev. 10:7; Rom. 16:25.
Our Lord pointed to this culmination of knowledge, when he said to his followers that in the future the holy spirit "should show them things to come." (John 16:13.) It is in full harmony with this that special visions and revelations were given to St. Paul, not for the benefit of himself alone, but for the blessing and encouragement and assistance of all the members of the Church of Christ, God's Secret Society. For although the Apostle tells us that he was forbidden to make known the secret things revealed to him, nevertheless by Divine intention the knowledge given to him greatly illuminated his writings and made them specially helpful to the saints throughout the Age. And St. Paul's writings, be it remembered, constitute more than one-half of the New Testament. Thus did God provide a storehouse of spiritual food, to be gradually dispensed to the Household of Faith throughout the age, as "meat in due season" --dispensed by the holy spirit. We remember, furthermore, that the Law and Prophecies given to typical Israel were clothed in figurative, symbolical language, and these also constituted "meat" for the Household of Faith, the understanding and appropriation of which would be possessed gradually, as the holy spirit would guide them and grant the necessary enlightenment, that the spirit-begotten ones might understand "the deep things of God." Moreover, the writings of St. Paul constitute a key to the understanding of the many features of the typical Law Covenant.
This principle of keeping secret the Divine purpose, yet providing a key to its understanding, which would unlock it in due time, reminds us of the time-locks now in common use for the protection of the treasures of our banks. The combination will not operate until the due time has been reached, and then it will yield only to those who have the combination, and who will use it.
As an illustration in point, note the statement of Daniel's experience and the Divine message to him. The Prophet had been given a vision and a part of it had been interpreted to him, but the remainder perplexed him. He plead with the Lord, he tells us, with fasting and prayer for weeks, and then obtained a further interpretation of a portion of it, but was told respecting the remainder, "Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end (in the time of the end of the present order of things.) Many shall run to and from (by steam and electric power), and knowledge shall be increased (through compulsory education.) And then the wise (with heavenly wisdom) shall understand." (Dan. 12:4,9-10.) As a further illustration remember our Redeemer's words to the disciples when they asked at his first advent, "Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?" he answered and said unto them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." (Acts 1:6,7.) "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but my Father only." (Matt. 24:36.) There is nothing here to intimate that the Son would never know the time, nor that the angels in heaven would never know the time, nor that men would never know the time; but merely that the time for the knowledge was not yet due. It was still in the Father's hands, unrevealed even to the Son.
Another illustration of this fact that there are great secrets connected with our subject--the Divine Program--is shown in the Book of Revelation. That Book itself is full of signs and symbols, evidently designed to barricade its mysteries from all except a certain class, the saints, and from them, also until the time was due [OV7] for the secrets to be revealed. Note the words, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear (understand) the words of this Prophecy." (Rev. 1:3.) The very reading of it will bring a blessing, and, as its mysteries gradually dissolve, the understanding thereof will bring still additional blessing. Note again in the introduction of the Book the statement of its mysterious and symbolic character. Its name, Revelation, signifies the uncovering, and implies something hidden. The opening sentence is, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it (revealed it in symbolic form) by his messenger."--Rev. 1:1.
We close this testimony respecting the mystery, the secret enshrouding the Divine purpose, with the account of Revelation, Fifth Chapter. Here a beautiful symbolism represents our Creator, Jehovah, upon his Throne of Glory, holding in his hand a scroll of manuscript, written within and on the outside, and sealed with seven seals. That scroll pictured the Divine Purpose respecting our race. Not a seal had yet been broken. This confirms our Redeemer's words that the Father had kept all things pertaining to his Divine Purpose in his own hands or power. Then we note the proclamation made throughout heaven: "Who is worthy to be granted the custody of the scroll, to open its seals, to know its mysteries, and to be entrusted with the honor of carrying them to completion?" A hush prevailed--silence in heaven! Apparently none was found worthy of so high an honor as to interpret and execute the Divine Purpose. The Revelator John says, "I wept much." He had great grief that the wise and gracious Program of the Almighty must remain sealed and unfulfilled, because no competent agent was to be found.
But the scene changed. An angel touching the Revelator, said: "Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open the scroll, by loosing the seals thereof." St. John wiped his tears and looked again. A fresh symbolic picture met his eye. He beheld a lamb as it had been slain, to whom the scroll was entrusted, and he heard in symbol the united voice of the heavenly host declaring the Will of God, "Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals thereof." Here we see, then, that great and honorable as our Redeemer had been before he left the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, he had not then proven himself worthy of this great glory and service, represented by the giving to him of the scroll of the Divine Purpose, with authority and power to carry the same to completion. Nor did he reach this climax during his earthly ministry. It was after he had finished the Sacrifice, after he had died on Calvary as the Lamb of God, after he had ascended to heaven. Then he was highly exalted. In the Apostle's language, he was "Given a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."-- Phil. 2:9-11.
Then all the heavenly host hailed him, as he was entrusted with the execution of the Divine Program, "Worthy the Lamb." But he had not yet executed the Divine Purpose, which was still immature, undeveloped. He had, however, begun the execution of it in the organization of his Church. At Pentecost he sent forth the begetting spirit, which since has represented him in the world, and through it he has begotten to newness of nature the faithful, consecrated believers throughout this Age. Soon this church, which is called the Mystery of God, shall have been finished--when the last member shall have been accepted, chiseled, polished and made ready for association with himself, as the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, and Joint-Heirs in the Kingdom, which Kingdom, by the grace of God, will bless all the families of the earth, by a release from the powers of Sin and Death, which now hold it in slavery.
[OV8]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
III--THE BIBLE IN THE LIGHT OF REASON
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
This is the third article in the series by Pastor Russell of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. There is no gainsaying the importance of the theme, and, too, in view of the fact that Mr. Russell is so widely known, these articles have occasioned wide discussion and comment, as has been evidenced by the vast number of communications that have come to the Overland Monthly from all parts of the country. --THE EDITOR.
HAVING established to our satisfaction:
I. The fact that there is a supreme, intelligent, wise, just, powerful and good Creator; and
II. That he had special reasons for keeping certain features of his program secret (a mystery) and in revealing some gradually to those in fellowship with himself, we now proceed.
III. To consider to what extent the Bible furnishes reasonable evidence that it is a Divine revelation worthy of acceptance by those who are capable of heart accord with their Creator and his great program of the ages. The Bible is the only book in the world which in a logical and rational manner sets forth the order of creation in respect to earth, and shows man as its Lord and ruler and his Divine authority over the "beasts of the field, the fowls of the air and the fish of the sea," giving a detailed account of the processes of the creative epochs. The Bible alone gives man a proper standing as the Son of God, made in the Divine image and likeness as respects mental and moral qualities. The Bible alone explains to us how and why sin and death prevail amongst mankind and not amongst the angels. We find ourselves "born in sin and shapen in iniquity," "prone to sin as the sparks fly upward;" yet the Bible only explains to us how and why this is our condition and how and when and what relief God has provided for our race. The Bible alone gives an orderly record of the first man and his descendants to the flood. The Bible alone gives an explanation why the flood came and what purposes it served in the Divine program. The Bible alone gives a record of the epoch immediately following the flood and carries a genealogical line from Adam to Noah, to Abraham, to the nation of Israel.
It is true that other so-called sacred books do in some degree effect to give an account of creation, but the story they tell is so wildly absurd as to be unworthy of the slightest credence. The Chinese, for instance, relate that the elder God and his son in a skiff together grounded, and the son in shoving the boat free caught a handful of earth and shells which he moulded in his hands and tossed out upon the surface of the water, where it grew and grew until it became this earth. Who will compare such an absurd statement with the orderly and logical presentations of Genesis? We grant that the Genesis account is not as full and complete as we could have wished for, yet later on when [OV9] we shall take up this subject of creation we shall find a perfect agreement between its brief, epitomized statements and the most accurate deductions of the most careful geologists of the Twentieth Century.
In studying the Bible we should remember that it was written neither to the world nor for the world, nor yet concerning the world, except as the world is related to the Divine program. From the time of Abraham, the Divine program attached itself to him and his posterity, natural and spiritual Israel--proposing a blessing for Abraham and his seed and recovery from the sin and death conditions, and that these blessings through Abraham's seed shall in due course extend to and bless "all the families of the earth." Only from this standpoint can the Bible be rightly viewed or judged.
While the Bible claims no Divine inspiration in respect to the history of affairs from creation to Moses, a Divine supervision of that history is unquestionably implied and is explained as proper, necessary, because of the relationship between God's dealing through Abraham and Moses under the Covenants and his previous dealings with the race, leading up to these Covenants and properly making them necessary to man's recovery from the dominion of sin and death. Divine interposition and revelation to Abraham is directly claimed and the ground therefor is explicitly stated--God's time had come for beginning the work of rescue for our race and Abraham's faith marked him as the appropriate one through whom the good tidings (Gospel) of Divine mercy should be made known, saying: "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." That promise became the basis of hope, the magnet for faith and the inspiration for righteousness to all those who foreshadowed, typified the blessings to come through the Abrahamic Covenant. The prophets merely foretold certain details connected with the fulfilling of that promise made to Abraham and his seed, and encouraged the favored nation to whom these promises were made to stand firmly for the Lord and continue to be his typical people.
It is that Covenant that St. Paul referred to as the oath-bound Covenant, the Divine promise of a future blessing to mankind through Abraham's seed, firmly bound by the Divine oaths to the intent that all believers might have strong consolation in fleeing from sin, in resisting its allurements, in denying self, in taking up the cross, in seeking to be affiliated with God, and to be accounted worthy of association with the great Messiah promised --the seed of Abraham to bless the world. (Heb. 6:10-14.) The Apostle assures us that by it the twelve tribes of Israel continually serving God were inspired and held in loyalty to him and separated from the nations surrounding them. "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come." (Acts 26:7.)
We are stating the matter simply, just as set forth in the Scriptures. It is for the Evolutionists and Higher Critics to explain away their difficulties. Ignoring the Bible account and claiming man's origin to have been primordial protoplasm, they trace his ascent by evolutionary processes to Adam, the first "monkey-man." The intelligence displayed by Moses and the Egyptians of his time they find it difficult to account for, and so in defense of their theory they surmise thousands or millions of years, regardless of the fact that in so long a period the world would be vastly over-populated. Moreover, they have another difficulty, inasmuch as the intelligence displayed by Moses and recorded in the Bible is far beyond the intelligence of the masses of today and even of broader basis than the most intelligent of today; so that in the most learned circles and in courts of justice the words and laws of Moses and Israel are cited as standards of wisdom and justice. Indeed, it is safe to say that the laws of the most civilized nations of the world today have either been constructed out of the so-called Laws of Moses or have been diligently compared and revised in the light thereof.
Pause for a moment to consider some of the features of that Law. Notice that some of its accepted provisions have modified Latin laws, much to their advantage, and that other neglected features of the Mosaic Law are being cried for by Socialists today, and, not being forthcoming, in the estimation of many our present civilization is beset with danger from anarchy. [OV10] We refer, for instance, to the Law of Moses respecting debtors and creditors--that a debt could not extend beyond fifty years-- that the fiftieth or Jubilee year wiped out every responsibility, personal and financial, and permitted each estate to come back to its original possessors, and each family to recover from its disasters and financial difficulties. It is the neglect of this very provision which has been recognized to some extent and been offset somewhat by the "Laws of Bankruptcy," which in the last few years have been adopted by all civilized nations--limiting the duration of the debt--hindering it from crushing out hope and ambition.
Unlike all other Governments that instituted by Moses recognized God himself as the ruler, and the nation as his people. The "holy of holies" of their Tabernacle was the Divine meeting place, and around it circled in order the various tribes. The sentiment of personal responsibility to God was maintained in all of their laws, and the spirit of the Decalogue is today recognized as the very best statement of human obligation--"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, being, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." Thirty centuries have failed to improve upon this statement. The Government instituted by Moses was in many respects a model of fairness and justice as between brethren, and even the rights of the stranger, the foreigner, were stipulated.
Israel was in many respects a republic whose officers acted under the Divine Commission and law, and so continued for over four hundred years. Then at the request of the Elders it was changed to a monarchy by the Lord's permission, but without his approval. He said to Samuel who acted as a representative of the people: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me." Under Divine direction, the prophet explained to the people how their Divine rights and liberties would be disregarded by the kings and they would lose their liberty in a considerable measure by this change.--1 Sam. 8:6-22.
Considering the anxiety of the people to have a king, how evidently Moses might have taken that position amongst them without the slightest opposition! The judges were representatives of the various families and tribes. Respecting them, Moses declared "And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's."--Deut. 1:16-17.
The laws of the most civilized peoples of today do not more carefully provide that rich and poor shall stand on a level in accountability before the civil law. The Jubilee arrangement, as we have seen, is in this order; and all the laws were made public, thus establishing the poorest in a knowledge of his rights. Respecting the rights of the foreigner, for instance, we read, "Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God." (Lev. 24:22.) "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself."--Lev. 19:33,34.
The laws protected the weak, the stranger, the servant. For instance, "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless." (Ex. 22:21-24; 23:9; Lev. 19:33,34.) "Thou shalt not oppress him that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren or the strangers that are in the land, within thy gates. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it; lest he come against thee to the Lord and it be sin unto thee." "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man." (Lev. 19:13,14,32.) All of this, yet not one word of special honor for the priestly tribe.
[OV11]
Note again the equity: "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee, lying under his burden, wouldst thou forbear to help him? Thou shalt surely help him." (Ex. 23:4-5.) Mark how dumb animals were not forgotten: the ox must not be muzzled while threshing the grain, because any laborer is worthy of his food. An ox and an ass must not be hitched together, because so unequal in strength and tread; it would be cruelty. Their rest was also provided for.-- Deut. 25:4; 22:10; Ex. 23:12.
A priestly tribe was indeed indicated, but so far from being selfishly put into power, the reverse was done, in that no political power was given to the priesthood. They were to teach the people and to minister holy things, but not to be their rulers. Moreover, they were cut off from an inheritance with the other tribes in the land and made dependent upon the voluntary offerings of their brethren. Nor was their position fortified by threats of present or future calamity. If they were negligent of their teachers, the simple exhortation was: "And the Levite that is within thy gates: thou shalt not forsake him: for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee." (Deut. 14:27.) To say that this arrangement was selfish or that the scheme was concocted by "priests and knaves" is to declare one's ignorance of the institutions of Israel. On the contrary, if the Bible were more thoroughly studied there would be many to inquire with the celebrated attorney who made a study of the Jewish law: "Where did Moses get that Law?" The answer surely would be that it was not the product of a "monkey-man," and more, that it gave evidence of a Divine authorship as well as of a highly intelligent, humble, patriotic, noble instrument.
We must leave for future consideration the typical features of Moses' Law, competent understanding of which serves an important place in the instruction of spiritual Israel concerning spiritual things. This the Apostle declares, saying that the "Law is a shadow of things to come," (Col. 2:17), and that as cleansings were made with the blood of bulls and of goats, these prefigure antitypical cleansings through "better sacrifices."-- Heb. 9:23.
Who can reasonably or truthfully say that these laws and regulations were the work of crafty, designing men animated by selfish desires? And the same principle applies to the historical books and to the prophecies of the Scriptures. Everything tests the sincerity of the writers and their loyalty to God and men. The messages which they delivered often cost them popular disfavor and sometimes their lives.--Heb. 11:30-40.
The very fact that the sins and weaknesses of prophets, kings and priests are laid bare in the Scriptures, yet without any apparent animosity or any desire to color or whiten them, indicates fairness and a loyalty to Truth beyond anything we are accustomed to today. Indeed, although many bad men of influence are criticised in the Scriptures, there is no evidence whatever of any endeavor to tamper with the records. Apparently the sacred writings held the reverence of the people to a remarkable degree.
Much along the same line could be said for the New Testament writings. They are simply told. Unfavorable truths are not ignored. It is freely conceded that Jesus died between two thieves; that he was betrayed by one of his own disciples; that they all forsook him and fled; that one of them even denied him with cursing. The humble origin of the disciples is stated, yet without parade, and in narrative form it is innocently declared that even when the apostles Peter and John preached under the power of the Holy Spirit their learned hearers could "perceive that they were ignorant and unlearned men." (Acts 4:13.) What biographies or other writings of today display as much candor as we thus see at a glance as we open the Bible?
The Bible Itself a Miracle.
When we consider the fact that the Bible is composed of sixty-six books written by thirty-eight different pens, during a long period of nearly two thousand years it is a miracle surely that these writers are in full accord, telling the one story. This cannot be accounted for except upon the lines which the Scriptures themselves lay down, namely: that these various writers [OV12] were supernaturally guided in respect to their utterances. To get a view of how stupendous this miracle is, let us suggest that an equal amount of writing from any thirty-eight men living contemporaneously, members of one denomination, influenced by one general shade of thought, would be found widely conflicting and contradictory--even if they were the most learned men in the denomination and picked for the very purpose of this demonstration.
Permit another suggestion along this line, namely: that amongst those who reverence the Bible as a Divine revelation, we find such dissimilarity of thought that it has developed hundreds of denominational creeds which contradict and oppose one another in a most violent manner, so that the peace-loving of today are constrained to avoid doctrines as much as possible in the interest of unity. More than this, what shall be thought of it if we find that all the creeds of Christendom not only antagonize each other and antagonize reason, but that they violently antagonize the Scriptures themselves? What shall we say to it if we find the Scriptures alone harmonious with themselves and with reason? Will not this demonstrate that the Bible is the most wonderful Book in the world--assaulted both by friends and foes, it has withstood them all and still stands the great Divine monument and record of the purposes which God purposed in himself before the foundation of the world?
Harmony from Genesis to Revelation.
We hold and shall endeavor to make plain that the Bible is not, as is generally supposed, a collection of wise and unwise rules, regulations, statements, etc., but that it is a Divine record so arranged that when its various parts and their relationship to each other is discerned, it reveals the wonderful outlines of the Divine purpose.
Notice briefly what we will more particularly outline and develop later, namely: that from the opening statement to the closing one the theme is The Divine Program:
(1) Creation;
(2) The Fall;
(3) Suggestive promises, intimations and types of recovery for the fallen race through the mercy of the Creator.
(4) The development of the thought that sin is unholiness and that it must be abhorred and repelled and put away, in order to approach harmony with the Holy Creator.
(5) That this is not possible to us because of our inherited weaknesses.
(6) That God foresaw this and provided for it by sending his Son to be man's Redeemer and Reconciler.
(7) That since one sinner could not redeem another, the Redeemer must be "holy, harmless and separate from sinners," and that to this purpose Christ was peculiarly begotten by the transference of his life in a miraculous manner from the heavenly condition to the earthly.
(8) That he "died, the just for the unjust," that thus the sinner's penalty being paid, the sinner himself might ultimately go free.
(9) The necessity for co-operation on the part of the sinner, if any grace be accomplished in him and for him.
(10) The call of the Church class to be associated with the Redeemer in the sufferings of this present time, in self-denials and sacrifices in the interests of the Cause of Truth and righteousness.
(11) The incentive, the reward offered to such as will now emulate their Redeemer and thus become "copies of God's dear Son," and thus "make their calling and their election sure" to a joint-heirship with their Redeemer in his coming Kingdom.
(12) A trial and testing of the Church as to love and loyalty to the Lord and to the brethren and sympathetic love toward mankind in general, yea, even for their enemies.
(13) With the conclusion of this elective or selective purpose will come the resurrection of the Church, their change from earthly to heavenly conditions, their entrance into the joys of their Lord, "changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," to glory, honor and immortality.
(14) The work will end with the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom in which he and his faithful Bride, the "elect" Church, will supervise all the affairs [OV13] of earth to the intent that Satan will be bound and all evil influences will be restrained. The knowledge of the Truth will be widely proclaimed until every creature shall appreciate it fully. The stopple of death to those who then, during the Millennium, shall come into harmony with The Christ and be obedient to the laws of the Kingdom.
(15) Next in order will come the awakening of the thousands of millions who have died, the bringing forth of these, "every man in his own order," that they may be brought to a complete knowledge of the Truth, to a full opportunity of deciding for righteousness and its reward, eternal life; or contrariwise, the penalty of the Second Death.
(16) The full restitution of man to his original perfection and the bringing of earth to the glorious estate of Paradise restored will be the culmination of this Divine program, because by that time "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess" the Messiah, and only the wilfully disobedient will have been cut off, "destroyed from amongst the people."-- Acts 3:23.
(17) Then, at the end of the Millennium, the perfected race will be turned over in its completeness and perfection to the Father, without any mediatorial interposition or covering of sin or weaknesses; then according to Rev. 20:7, the Father will permit a strong temptation to come upon the entire human family to prove the loyalty or disloyalty to God and to righteousness of these favored people for whom so much will then have been done through the operation of Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power.
The Book which thus teaches in contradiction to the various and varied traditions of men, which for centuries have surrounded it, is certainly worthy of universal acknowledgment and acceptation as the Divine Message respecting "The Divine Program."
THE WORD OF TRUTH
THE Word of Truth is like a stained-glass window
rare,
We stand outside and gaze, but see no beauty there,
No fair design, naught but confusion we behold;
'Tis only from within the glory will unfold,
And he who would drink in the rapture of the view
Must climb the winding stair, the portal enter through.
The sacred door of Truth's cathedral is most low,
And all who fain would enter there the knee must bow
In deep humility. But once inside, the light
Of day streams through and makes each color
heavenly bright,
The Master's great design we see, our hands we
raise
In reverent ecstasy of wonder, love and praise!
[OV14]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
IV--THE PERMISSION OF EVIL
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
This is the fourth article in the series by Pastor Russell of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. These articles are attracting attention among a wide circle of readers, as is evidenced by numbers of letters that have come to the Overland Monthly from Pastor Russell's followers throughout the country. In addition, the press has devoted considerable attention to the articles in the form of criticism and comment. --THE EDITOR.
NOTHING HAS done so much to foster unbelief in a gracious Creator as the fact and persistency of evil--a fact that is indisputable. The reasoning faculties of some will exercise themselves and refuse to be stifled, and the possessors of such minds are straightway in trouble, unless, under Divine Providence, they have the only rational solution of the question from the only possible source--the Bible. The best faculties of the best brains idealize the Creator as the very embodiment of Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power. They say our Creator's character should be in harmony with these lines. Then, looking out upon the world and perceiving the sin and suffering everywhere prevalent, they conclude that the evidence is lacking that there is such an ideal God as they supposed. They reason that if he were just, he would not permit the child to inherit its parents' weaknesses and depravities, and then hold the child accountable for its conduct under these influences. They reason that if he were wise he would have avoided such conditions as made our race a "groaning creation." (Rom. 8:22.) They reason that if he were All-Powerful as they had supposed, he would never have permitted present conditions to come upon mankind. They reason that if he were All-Loving he would make an end of the present conditions of things one way or another.
It may seem strange to many that our claim should be the very reverse of the foregoing, namely, that it is the very perfection of Divine Character that has made possible the present condition of affairs. It is because of the absolute perfection of our Creator that he permits evil in the world. Let us demonstrate this and show the philosophy of it.
Granting an All-Wise Creator, just, loving and powerful, it is but reasonable to expect him to exercise his power, in harmony with his other attributes, not merely in the creation of inanimate things, but specially in the creation of beings of a highly intelligent order, and possessed of qualities and characteristics resembling his own. Such beings might properly be called "sons of God." The Scriptures declare to us several orders of these sons on various planes of existence. While revelation respecting the archangels, the cherubims and a lower order of angels is set before us in the Divine Word, comparatively little is told us respecting them and Divine dealings with them. However, a sufficiency has been told us, as we shall soon see, to enable us to comprehend [OV15] the operation of the Divine attributes in dealing with these. The Scriptures inform us that man was made subsequently to the above-mentioned spiritual beings, and that, because endowed with moral qualities and reasoning faculties, he also, in his perfection, was styled a "son of God," made in his image, although at the same time declared to have been "made a little lower than the angels."--Psa. 8:5.
Accepting the foregoing Scriptural statements, and giving them full weight, it will be admitted that for them to be in God's image and likeness would mean that they must have liberty to do right or to do wrong--they must be free moral agents. If their Creator is a free moral agent and they were created in His image and likeness, this would mean their liberty to obey or disobey the Divine command to follow righteousness or sin. As their Creator is influenced in his conduct by principles of righteousness, but is not bounden or restrained, so with these. Consequently there would always be a liability of their falling into error of judgment or personal ambition or other sin, and thus stepping out of accord with the Divine Government. This is exactly what has occurred.
The Creator, by the exercise of his power, could have kept his creatures shielded from temptation and continually prompt in obedience and adoration; but to have thus limited their sphere of reasoning and liberty would have been contrary to his noble designs respecting them. Moreover, "the Father seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth." Those who would not serve him loyally, intelligently, gladly; those who would develop in any degree a spirit of opposition to the Divine standards, and a love for sin should be manifested, should be known, should be dealt with accordingly. On the contrary, those found loyal under every test should be the more highly appreciated and blessed in their association with their Creator in his great Divine Program of the Ages.
Satan the First Rebel.
According to the Scriptures, Satan was the first rebel against Divine authority. He is represented as being one of the highest order of the angels, a "covering cherub," glorious and beautiful. His name was Lucifer, which signifies bright morning star, and corroborates the thought that he was one of the chiefest of the angels, who are figuratively called stars or bright ones, as when we read, "The morning stars sang together." Satan's ambition, which led up to the change of his name, is expressed in the words, "I will ascend above the other stars (angels.) I will be as the Most High"--an emperor, a ruler, having separate jurisdiction from that of the Creator. Lucifer is represented as first of all entertaining a disloyal and ambitious design, which for considerable time lay dormant, merely as an ambition, until in Divine providence the time came which seemed to Satan to be opportune for the realization of this ambition. Then came the test and his fall.
This was when our race was created, represented in our first parents. In their innocency and perfection, they enjoyed their Eden home, nor even thought of disobedience to their Heavenly Father. Satan beheld in them a new feature of Divine creation, such as had not been conferred previously upon any of the orders of angels, namely, the power of propagating their own species. In them he beheld the highest order of animal creature and animal powers, combined with the image of God, moral and intellectual. Here was the opportunity for the gratification of his long-cherished ambitions. If he could bring over to loyalty to himself the first human pair, he could doubtless establish such a control over them as would bring him his longed-for separate empire.
The method of procedure was a simple one. He would persuade them that he was their friend and benefactor, and that their Creator was tyrannical and desirous of keeping them in ignorance. God had furnished the opportunity for such a suggestion by putting our first parents upon trial for life or for death, the conditions being obedience. One special kind of fruit tree in Eden was selected for the testing. They were forbidden to eat of it. Satan, "that old serpent," endeavored to show them that the fruit of that tree was the most desirable of any in the Garden to give wisdom, to make them as gods. He assured them that the Divine Word, "In the day thou eat thereof thou shalt surely [OV16] die," was an untruth; that their Creator was a falsifier; that his motive was to deceive them, and that it was backed by an ignoble intention to hold them in slavery to himself--in ignorance. The sequel is briefly stated in the Divine record. Mother Eve believed the serpent and disbelieved the Creator. Thus she became a transgressor. Father Adam, perceiving that his wife had come under condemnation, ate of the forbidden fruit, knowingly, willingly, that he might die with his beloved spouse, without whom life seemed not worth living. Thus the great catastrophe of Sin and Death was launched upon our race. We estimate, we believe reasonably, that twenty thousand millions of Adam's posterity since born have been overwhelmed by this catastrophe and have gone down in sin and degradation and in death to the tomb--the hell of the Bible-- the sheol of the Old Testament, the hades of the New Testament.
The Intelligent and the Unintelligent
Tested.
Behold the wisdom of God in the method here pursued: One of the most glorious of the angels, long-experienced in fellowship with the Creator, finds his testing, his opportunity for sin, and in connection with the newest of God's creatures. And the youngest of God's sons found his trial, his testing, his temptation, at the hands of one of the oldest and by nature one of the most glorious of his brethren. Note another difference. The one of long experience and transgressor against great light was merely ostracized as respects heavenly companionship, while the one of little experience was subjected to the full penalty of the Divine Law, "Dying thou shalt die," "The soul that sinneth it shall die."--Ezek. 18:4.
Let us not hastily decide that our Creator
was unjust in this arrangement, but
rather with the poet say:
"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
"Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain."
The dying processes which from the time of disobedience took hold upon our race were not unjust. He who gave life originally had the full right to take it away when it was exercised in disobedience to the Divine command. Its infliction was in full conformity with the original declaration, "Thou shalt die." The dying began forthwith, and was consummated within the thousand-year day. "A day with the Lord is as a thousand years" (2 Pet. 3:8.) Since then the same penalty has continued with Adam's race. It has indeed been "a reign of Sin and Death"-- and has had many sad features, even though entirely just. But our Creator informs us in the Scriptures that he purposes that all the present lessons given to our race respecting the exceeding sinfulness of sin "and the bitterness of its fruit shall ultimately prove valuable, assistful and educational to our race--before the Divine Program shall have finally ended.
Meantime, in permitting Satan to seemingly thwart the Divine purpose in Eden and in permitting him still to live untrammeled, undying, the Creator gave opportunity to all the angels of Heaven to doubt the greatness of his power--to doubt his ability to cope with one of his highest creatures. We can imagine the wonderment of the angels and their queries respecting what their Creator would do with the arch-rebel who had thus defied him. Failure to visit condign punishment upon him could easily be misunderstood to signify weakness, deficiency of power, in the very place where omnipotence was supposed to reside--and really does reside.
The Angelic Hosts All Tested.
If only one of the angelic host failed along the lines of unbounded ambition, the Creator would extend a testing to all of the angelic hosts along various lines. Not that he would delight in the fall of any more, not that he would participate in tempting them, but he would permit such a reign of sin and such an apparent over-riding of Divine power as would encourage all of the angelic host who had the slightest tendency toward disloyalty to manifest themselves. Thus would the Lord test, prove, manifest, those who are in [OV17] heart obedience of love and loyalty and those whose obedience is of fear or ignorance.
The occasion of testing of the angels presented itself during a period of time in which they were permitted to have free intercourse with humanity, ostensibly with a view to helping them back again into full harmony and fellowship with God. A part of their privilege was materialization, by which they were enabled to appear as men amongst men. The exercise of this power was fully set forth in the account of Genesis, Sixth Chapter. It is related that the special angel or messenger of the Lord and two others of the Heavenly messengers appeared to Abraham in broad daylight. He knew them not from men. They ate with him and talked with him and subsequently revealed their identity, the two inferior angels (messengers) going down to Sodom for the deliverance of Lot.
According to the Divine Plan and Word it was not possible for the angels to lift mankind out of sin and condemnation back to Divine fellowship. But if the opportunity had not been granted, the angels might have supposed to this day that the redemption which God purposes through Christ was not the only possible one, but that they, if permitted, might have accomplished wonderful results for mankind. God not only demonstrated that they were not competent to save mankind, but at the same time He brought a test upon the angels themselves, which at first they little suspected. As they beheld sin in humanity and realized something of the "pleasures of sin," the test came to them whether they would prefer the pleasures of sin for a season or would remain absolutely pure and loyal to God --whether they would retain their original state as angels, or, failing to appreciate this, would desire to live as men and to participate in human affairs and sinful propensities. A considerable number chose to "leave their own habitation"-- the spiritual realm--and to live as mankind and with men.
These were probably emboldened to this step by the example of Satan, whose disloyalty to the Divine will had not been punished with death nor with any diminution of his power. The suggestion was that there were limitations to Divine power which they had not at first suspected, and this belief made them free to exercise their own volition and to choose sin. It is in harmony with this that we read, "The sons of God (angels) saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose....There were giants in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (angels) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown." --Gen. 6:2-4.
This very plain record of the Old Testament is also substantiated by the inspired writers of the New Testament. Both St. Peter and St. Jude refer to the matter of those angels quitting their own habitation or plane of existence and preferring the lower human plane and its intercourse with humanity. Thus we read: "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation (preferring the human), He hath reserved in everlasting chains of darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude 6.) "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus (our earth's atmosphere), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment."--2 Pet. 2:4.
The Earth Filled with Violence.
The distinct intimation of Genesis is that the posterity of the angels amongst men possessed greater virility than Adam's race, which had been fallen through sin and its death penalty for fifteen centuries. Selfish ambition threatened to utterly destroy with violence the race of Adam and to leave the earth in full possession of Satan and the fallen angels and their human offspring. This would have been going too far--would have been frustrating the Divine Program. Every feature of it, however, was foreknown and had all been permitted to come to pass of angelic volition and human volition at the most appropriate time--at a time when the last of earth's Saturn-like rings was ripening for collapse, as a flood of water to destroy every living creature on the face of the earth, saving only Noah and his family, who [OV18] were specially provided for and cared for in the ark. That flood of waters drowned the giant descendants of the angels and the members of the human family who had come under their influence willingly and unwillingly. The justice of the destruction, so far as the progeny of the angels is concerned, cannot be questioned. They were exercising life rights and privileges which the Almighty had never authorized nor countenanced. Consequently no provision would ever be made for them no redemption, no resurrection.
As for those of Adam's race who perished in the flood, they were no worse off than if they had perished by some other means, famine or pestilence, or what is sometimes designated "natural death." Their lives were already under sentence of death. No injustice was done. We shall see, however, in due course that the Divine Program includes certain privileges and opportunities of blessings for those and for all of Adam's children involved in his condemnation to death and subsequently redeemed from the power of death by Jesus the Son of the Highest.
Noah Perfect in His Generation.
Noah as the son of Adam was partaker of his condemnation and inherited his weaknesses. Therefore he was not a perfect man, nor is such the intimation of the words used in describing him, namely, "Now Noah was perfect in his generation." His generation or birth is the particular point in this observation. He and his family were not polluted, contaminated by the improper, angelic intercourse. Thus we have in few words the assurance that our entire race is of Adamic stock, and that we, therefore, were of those condemned in Adam, for whom provision was made for justification through the sacrifice of Christ.
As for those angels who sinned, St. Peter declares that they were thereafter restrained of their liberties of materialization in chains of darkness--restrained from manifesting themselves to humanity in the light, in the open.
We have reason, however, for believing that the mercy of God has not yet utterly forsaken those fallen angels. The basis of this thought is found in St. Peter's words, to the effect that our Lord's death and his resurrection from death by the Father's power constituted a sermon to those fallen angels, demonstrating to them the power of God and his faithfulness to his obedient Son and his generous mercy to sinful humanity in the redemption thus accomplished. This sermon of Divine mercy coming to fallen angels would signify that there might be, eventually, mercy for them also. This thought was further supplemented by the Scriptural declaration, "Know ye not that the saints shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3.) Since the holy angels will need no judging, disciplining or trial, it must be the fallen angels who are thus to be judged by God's saints in due time, and judgment or trial implies an opportunity for repentance and reconciliation to God. In view of this, we may reasonably assume that while all of those disobedient angels are restrained from liberties and separated from the holy angels, there are two classes of them--the one desirous of returning to harmony with God, the other delighting in sin and under the Prince of Demons, Satan, evil workers amongst men, operating through spirit mediums and obsessed persons and others less thoroughly given over to their control.
Walk by Faith, Not by Sight.
During the four thousand years since the deluge, this earth has been subject to what the Scriptures term "A Reign of Sin and Death." Humanity, struggling under these adverse conditions, has been subjected additionally to baneful influences from the fallen angels, so that the Apostle declares, "We wrestle not with flesh and blood (merely), but with wicked spirits in influential positions." (Eph. 6:12.) The degradation of man, originally made in the image of his Creator, has been dreadful in some quarters of the world, reducing him almost to the level of the brute. All this has certainly been a great trial of faith to the holy angels. Well might they inquire, "Why does the Almighty permit such conditions of imperfection to continue? What purpose has he in this permission of evil?" Meantime Satan has, through various agencies, sought to turn the hearts of men away from the Almighty, and from the revelation he has made of himself. These [OV19] agencies have sought to represent him as base, vindictive, loveless, unjust and powerfully vicious.
During this time God has, through the stammering lips of humanity and his prophets and evangels, proclaimed to the world a time of coming blessing through Messiah and a Messianic Kingdom. Nevertheless, all who so believed were required to "Walk by faith and not by sight." To outward appearances the Divine Program miscarried and Satan won the day. Only those who would exercise faith have been enabled to endure as seeing the invisible and believing in a grace not yet made manifest in full measure. Doubtless it was a trial to the holy angels and to the fallen ones, but specially to humanity.
Holy, Harmless, Undefiled.
More than four thousand years after the reign of Sin and Death began, God sent forth his Son to be man's Redeemer, to recover him from the fall. Yet here again the outward evidences seemed to believe the facts. The Son of the Highest, miraculously born, was thought to be illegitimate. Instead of appearing in regal, heavenly splendor, he appeared as "The man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," and died as a blasphemer and malefactor. Yea, and since then, those who have followed his footsteps most closely have corroborated his words that the friendship of God means the opposition of the world and the Adversary. What is the secret of Gospel Age, since Pentecost obscures Divine dealing?
We reply that during this time the Creator has been selecting from amongst the redeemed sinners special classes to have association with himself and his Only-Begotten One in the work of blessing all the families of the earth. The Divine object in requiring all of these to walk by faith and not by sight is that thus he may find a select "Little flock" full of faith and zealous of good works.
The Grandeur of the Climax.
As the century plant develops very slowly
its bloom, and then suddenly bursts
forth most gorgeously, so, we hold, will
the Divine Program ultimately show
forth the Wisdom, Justice, Love and
Power of the Creator. The poet caught
this poetic thought and expressed it in
the words:
"Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
"His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower."
By the permitted reign of Sin and Death, Divine Justice has been permitted to display itself in a manner which would not otherwise have been known to either angels or men, and in the Sacrifice of the Cross, Divine Love manifests itself to a degree never previously understood nor appreciated. When this age shall have accomplished its work of selecting an "elect" church, to be the Bride and Joint-Heir with Messiah in his Millennial Kingdom; when that Kingdom reign shall have brought blessings and glorious opportunities to all of the human race, and Divine Power shall have been manifested, even to the utmost limit of the Resurrection of the Dead, the Divine Purpose as a whole will be resplendent with the Wisdom of God.
In a word, then, evil has been permitted in order to manifest the Divine Attributes to obedient creatures and in order to test and prove the loyalty to God and the principles of his righteousness of both angels and men. The Grand Outcome will be satisfactory to all--that ultimately all not in heart harmony with God and his righteousness will be utterly destroyed, while all truly his will share his love and blessing eternally. Then every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth shall be heard praising him that sitteth on the throne, and the Lamb, forever.
[OV20]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
V--REDEMPTION FROM THE CURSE
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
This is the fifth in the series of articles
by Pastor Russell of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
Interest in these articles goes on
apace, and the press generally is giving
the arguments of Pastor Russell considerable
attention. Letters containing comment
of different kinds continue to pour into
this office, all of which tends to show
that the series of articles is awakening
general interest.--THE EDITOR.
AS IN OLD English the word evil was frequently used in respect to things unwholesome or hurtful, as well as things morally bad, so also the word curse was used more frequently than now in respect to calamities and the unfavorable condition resulting from the Divine sentence against sin and sinners. We have noted that the evil or unsatisfactory conditions prevailing amongst mankind are the results of the Divine curse or sentence. We have seen that a great mistake was made in the dark ages in the assumption that the curse or sentence against sin was one of eternal torment; that on the contrary it was a just one, a death sentence; that the Creator declares that the life and blessings given to his creatures were forfeited forever because of disobedience under trial, and that all of Adam's posterity share his curse or sentence in a natural way--because he could not give to his children more than he possessed himself. We have seen that the mental, moral and physical imperfection prevalent in the world is all directly or indirectly the outworking of the death sentence on account of which, as the Apostle declares, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain," "waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God" and the blessings which God has promised shall come to all the families of the earth through the "elect" Church, after its glorification as the Kingdom of God's dear Son.--Rom. 8:19,22.
Keeping in mind the scriptural use of the word curse, in its broad signification attaching to every quality of mind and body, we now come to the consideration of what the Bible teaches respecting the redemption from that curse.
We find the intelligence of the world hostile to the thought of redemption and specially hostile to the thought of redemption through the precious blood of Christ. We believe that their hostility results from their having the wrong standpoint of view. Their opposition unconsciously perhaps associates itself with the erroneous thought that man was cursed to eternal torment on account of Adam's sin; and that redemption from the curse would signify God's purchase of a handful of mankind out of eternal torment. Human intelligence would assent to no such proposition of (1) injustice and cruelty, and (2) a commercial barter in the name of Justice and Love. But this is not the Bible presentation of redemption, and those who hold this view should lay it aside, should rid their minds of it, that they may approach the subject from the standpoint of God's Word and not from [OV21] the standpoint of the superstitions and terrors of the dark ages.
Divine Justice Inexorable.
When we view our Creator as the Supreme Judge of the Universe and acknowledge him absolutely perfect in Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power, we can see that there could be no appeal from the decisions of this Supreme Court, and furthermore that this court could not reverse or set aside its own decisions. For instance, granted that the Divine Law is that no creature may have eternal life except upon the terms of absolute obedience to the Divine Law of righteousness; granted also the Scriptural proposition that Father Adam, under a fair trial in Eden, was disobedient and came under the sentence or curse, "Dying thou shalt die," it will be conceded that no relief could reach his case except through a Redeemer, a substitute. That is to say, man having lost his life rights and been sentenced to death justly, the Great Judge could not justly reverse that sentence. He could not declare his original sentence an unjust one. He could not declare Adam worthy of eternal life, nor could he excuse him and forgive him, and yet preserve the laws of the Divine Empire inviolate. For God to break his own laws and to cancel his own sentence, even once, would establish such a precedent as would mar our confidence in his unchangeableness. For instance, if God could lie, and, after having pronounced a death sentence were to revoke it and clear the guilty one, the changeableness thus manifested would call in question the Divine Wisdom which pronounced a sentence which it subsequently desired to cancel. It would call in question Divine Justice. For if it were right to sentence Adam to death, it would be wrong to cancel that sentence and to give him eternal life. The difficulty with us in reasoning on such a subject is, that we, yea, all mankind, acknowledge fallibility --liability to err; hence very properly we know very little or nothing of Justice in its last analysis, which would be fitting only to the Supreme Judge. For four thousand years God exhibited to mankind and to the angelic onlookers his unwavering Justice--in that he permitted the reign of sin and death to proceed uninterrupted and practically unchecked.
Even the giving of the Law Covenant to the one nation of Israel worked no cessation of the sentence "Dying thou shalt die."
Sin and death still reigned from Moses until Christ, and the nation of Israel under its Law learned still more thoroughly the lesson that fallen, depraved humanity could not keep God's perfect Law and hence could not, under the Divine arrangement, make any claim for life eternal. Then came the time for God to accomplish in another way the seemingly impossible thing of maintaining the dignity and Justice of his Supreme Court, and, at the same time, providing a way by which members of the condemned race might be released from the penalty of original sin.
"An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a
Tooth."
This line of strict Justice the Lord inculcated in his Law given to Israel to assist them in understanding the great principle of Justice underlying the Divine conduct. The lines of the same Justice extended taught that a man's life is the penalty for a man's life. Thus our Lord prepared us to see how "he could be just, and yet be the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," and release such a believer from the death sentence which came upon all through Adam's sin.
We do not claim that the method which God adopted for dealing with our race was the only one open to him, but we do claim that the fact that Divine Wisdom selected this method of dealing with Adam's race is an assurance that in some respects, at least, it is the wisest method, the best adapted to the Divine purpose of developing the race and testing its members and their worthiness for life eternal --and also the best method for exhibiting the various qualities of the Divine character to angels and man.
Jesus was the world's Redeemer, and the entire process by which he accomplished that work is scripturally styled redemption. It includes the satisfaction of Divine Justice as respects original sin and the penalty imposed upon it. It includes also indirectly the Redeemer's work [OV22] of lifting the redeemed out of their sin and death condition--up, up, up to all that was lost in Eden and to all that was purchased back for them at Calvary by the Redeemer's sacrifice of himself.
"Holy, Harmless, Separate from Sinners."
The exactness and particularity of Divine Justice was exemplified in the fact that God could not and would not accept as a redeemer any member of Adam's race. Even if one of them could have been found willing to sacrifice in behalf of the others he would have been rejected; because, as the Scriptures declare: "No man can redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." (Psa. 49:7.) To human judgment this would have settled the entire matter and marked man's condition hopeless as respects redemption and a future life. But man's extremity became God's opportunity. What man could not do for himself God arranged for him--he provided a Redeemer, "The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," Jesus Christ the Righteous.
But our sense of justice cries out that it would be wrong for the Creator to compel one of his creatures to die for another or others. God's Word sustains this thought and assures us that no such injustice was practiced; that while the Heavenly Father planned a work of redemption, our Lord Jesus was in no sense of the word forced or compelled to sacrifice himself to carry out the Divine Program. There was another and a better way by which to reach the results desired. God could have created another man Adam, and could have allowed him to redeem the first Adam and then could have rewarded him with life on a higher plane of being. But what assurance would there have been that another newly created Adam would have done better than the first? The logic of the situation shows us that there would have been two races of sinners to deal with instead of one. But behold the Divine Wisdom which offered this service, for humanity to the noblest, the chiefest of all the Heavenly Court!--the Logos, the Beginning of the creation of God!--the Beginning of all creation!-- John 1:1; Rev. 3:14.
With the proposition properly went a promise of reward; and so we read that "for the joy that was set before him," our Lord Jesus endured the cross, ignored the shame and redeemed us by the sacrifice of himself; "wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess." Thus did God reward him who was already the beginning of the creation of God, the Logos, making him the Prime minister of the Celestial Empire, Associate in the Throne and Partaker of his own Divine, immortal nature. Our Lord says: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."--Rev. 3:31.
Every step of the Divine Program is interesting and instructive. The offering of the opportunity to make the greatest sacrifice and to perform the greatest service was made to the chiefest of the heavenly hosts. Had he declined the privilege, the offer might have been tendered to a subordinate --to Gabriel or others of the heavenly host. Being accepted by the Logos, the proposition went no further. He delighted to do the will of the Father--even to humbling himself unto Death, the death of the cross.
Humbled Himself Even Unto Death.
The redemption was not accomplished by the Logos as a spirit being. It was not a spirit being who was to be redeemed, but an earthly being, Adam. Hence the first step of our Lord, the Logos, was the leaving of the riches of the heavenly condition and humbling himself, debasing himself to the lower plane or state of the human nature. But although that was a great stoop, it was not the sacrifice for sin. As the Scriptures declare, it was "the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."-- 1 Tim. 2:6.
Just how the spark of life was transferred from the heavenly one to the earthly one may be beyond our power to explain or even fully to comprehend, but, all the same, it is a part of the Divine Revelation and fully consistent with and necessary to the Divine Program. The Scriptures show that it was because this spark of life came to Jesus, not from an earthly father, not from human stock, but as a transferred [OV23] life, that our Lord Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." At another time we may indicate just how and why it was possible that he could be born perfect and yet have an imperfect mother. This is the Scriptural proposition, and can be shown to be in fullest harmony with the scientific laws governing progeny.
"The Man Christ Jesus."
In consistent harmony with every other feature of the Divine Program he was made flesh, "came into the world to save sinners" by the sacrifice of his life, "the Just for the unjust." He did not make that sacrifice until thirty years old, because it was not a child who had sinned and was to be redeemed, but a man. Promptly on attaining the age specified in the Law, Jesus consecrated his life, renouncing all except the divine promise of reward. He symbolized that consecration to death by baptism in water at the hands of John the Immerser. It was then that he received the anointing of the holy Spirit, which constituted him the Anointed One--the Christ--the Messiah. The same anointing constituted his begetting of the holy Spirit as a New Creature to the Divine nature. Thenceforth for three and a half years he was sacrificing his humanity, which was consecrated to death and reckoned as dead and was "dying daily," while his New Mind or Will, begotten of the holy Spirit, was developing day by day. The outward man was perishing, while the inward man (the spirit begotten new creature), was being renewed during the three and a half years of his ministry. The end of the duality was reached at Calvary, when, as a man, he died once for all and forever. There the manhood which he consecrated and reckoned dead at Jordan became actually dead, and the New Creature, begotten of the holy Spirit and developed during his ministry, was "born from the dead" on the third day by resurrection power from on high. The work which the Father had given him to do had been performed, and he who had humbled himself to the human condition, "even unto death, even the death of the cross," was highly exalted and made partaker of the Divine Nature--glory, honor and immortality. He was put to death in the flesh; he was quickened in spirit; he was sown in death an animal body, and raised in resurrection a spirit body; sown in death, dishonored, numbered with the transgressors; raised in resurrection glory.
We see that our Lord's glory of person was attained at resurrection, but his glory of office he has not yet fully assumed. He awaits the selection of the "elect" Church to be his Bride, his "joint-heir" and Associate in his throne in the Millennial Kingdom for the blessing of the world. It is written that he shall "see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied." He is not yet satisfied, however, nor will he be, thank God, until by his Millennial Kingdom reign he shall have triumphed over everything opposed to righteousness and shall have delivered from the power of sin and death so many of the human family as under full light and opportunity will be glad to obey him and experience his uplifting power in that glorious epoch of his reign. The Bible abounds with accounts of the wonderful blessings which will accompany his reign of righteousness, assuring us that the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth and reach every individual; that all the blind eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears be unstopped; that the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God; that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, and that all who neglect to come into the fullest harmony will die the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery.--Acts 3:23.
Bought With a Price--A Ransom.
The Apostle writes, "Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price." (1 Cor. 6:19,20.) Listen to St. Paul again, "He gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. 2:6.) There is one feature of the subject seen by remarkably few, even by few Christian Bible students; namely, how the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus could redeem the world of mankind numbering thousands of millions. In their confusion some have suggested that our Lord suffered as much in connection with his earthly ministry as was due to all mankind as a penalty for sin. Some even go to greater absurdity in claiming that all the sufferings of the thousands of millions of Adam's race to all [OV24] eternity in hell would have been less than our Lord's sufferings during his earthly life. We sympathize keenly with the poor souls whose minds can accept such nonsense. And we sympathize with intelligent worldly people who, disgusted with such nonsense, turn away from Christianity entirely.
The Scriptural view of the matter is very simple and very reasonable. Its presentation is that Father Adam alone was placed on trial for life; that he alone failed: that he alone was sentenced to death, and that the payment of Adam's penalty to Justice would effect not only his release, but also that of all his children, who share in his condemnation-- "born in sin and shapen in iniquity." Hence, how beautiful and simple is this Biblical philosophy! How thoroughly it is confirmed by the Apostle's words, "By a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive. But every man in his own order." (1 Cor. 15:21-23.) Viewed from this standpoint, God's method in permitting sin to enter by the one man, and allowing his condemnation to pass upon the entire race, was in order that the sacrifice of one man, "holy, harmless and undefiled, separate from sinners," should fully satisfy the claims of Justice. What a masterpiece of economy, combined with Justice and Love, is thus brought to our attention! To catch the full force of the matter, we should see that if one hundred, instead of one, had been tried and failed and been condemned to death, Divine Justice must have required a hundred Saviors. If a thousand had been tried and condemned a thousand Saviors would have been required. If a million had been tried and condemned, a million Saviors would have been requisite.
Let us behold, then, the Wisdom of God in permitting the entire race to share the condemnation of their father, that they might also share in his redemption through the one Redeemer. No wonder the Apostle, noting these things, inquires, "Who hath been God's counsellor?" Who suggested to the Almighty such infinitely wise arrangements?
We have discussed merely the broad, basic plan of redemption which will be available to all mankind through the Resurrection and the Millennial Kingdom; there is a still higher plane of redemption and a superior resurrection for the church, first. The glorious results at the consummation will be a world of humanity perfect in the Divine image and likeness, fully tried and tested and proven to be lovers of righteousness and haters of iniquity and worthy, under the Divine arrangement, to enjoy life eternal under most favorable conditions--the unwilling, recalcitrants, all being destroyed in the Second Death "like brute beasts."-- 2 Pet. 2:12.
"His Loving Kindness Toward Us."
Every feature of the Divine Plan is wonderful and gracious, but most wonderful of all is that of the Divine provision for the Church of this Gospel Age. St. Paul beautifully notes this, and declares (Eph. 2:6,7) that throughout ages to come God will show forth the exceeding riches of his grace and his loving kindness toward us who are in Christ Jesus-- members of "the Body of Christ, which is the Church." Here again the Divine character is shown by a procedure quite contrary to anything men could have expected, and yet superlatively grand in its merciful condescension and its strict justice. Those who now accept Christ as their Redeemer and Instructor, who turn their backs on sin and fully consecrate their lives, thoughts, words, deeds, to the Lord's service are accepted by the Lord as members of Christ, over whom he is the Head. This means that such as now willingly, gladly, joyfully take up their cross and follow after their Redeemer, suffering for righteousness' sake and laying down their lives in the service of Divine Truth and its servants, will be granted a share with the Redeemer in all his glories and honors of the Millennial Kingdom--and more than this, a share with him in the highest of all spirit natures--Divine nature.-- 2 Pet. 1:4.
It is this elevation of the Church that the Apostle designates "Our high calling of God in Christ," and exhorts us to attain to at any and every cost. It is this great honor that our Lord compared to the pearl of great price--of great value, to obtain which one is well justified in selling [OV25] all that he has that he may obtain it. Hence, also, the Scriptures represent that only through great tribulation shall the "little flock" enter the Kingdom--obtain this great prize. And our Lord declares, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way (which leads to this superlative life now offered), and few there be that find it."
The redemption through the blood of Christ is general, for all the world. The salvation secured is alike to all--the privilege of return to human perfection and earthly inheritance, etc. The advantage accruing to the Church of this Gospel Age is the privilege of sacrificing those earthly rights and blessings secured by Jesus' death--sacrificing them in the service of the Lord and thereupon in turn receiving heavenly blessings, spiritual life and glory.
IF WE ONLY UNDERSTOOD
COULD we draw aside the curtains
That surround each other's lives,
See the naked heart and spirit,
Know what spur the action gives--
Often we would find it better,
Purer than we judge we would;
We would love each other better
If we only understood.
Could we judge all deeds by motives,
See the good and bad within,
Often we would love the sinner
All the while we loathe the sin.
Could we know the powers working
To o'erthrow integrity,
We would judge each other's errors
With more patient charity.
If we knew the cares and trials,
Knew the efforts all in vain,
And the bitter disappointments--
Understood the loss and gain--
Would the grim external roughness
Seem, I wonder, just the same?
Would we help where now we hinder?
Would we pity where we blame?
Ah, we judge each other harshly,
Knowing not life's hidden force;
Knowing not the fount of action
Is less turbid at its source.
Seeing not amid the evil
All the golden grains of good,
Oh, we'd love each other better
If we only understood.
[OV26]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
VI--ITS EPOCHS AND DISPENSATIONS
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
ORDER IS heaven's first law, and whoever would understand the divine program must study it in an orderly manner. Irregular and disorderly minds are at a disadvantage in Bible study. On the other hand, orderly minds are disadvantaged by the misrepresentations of the Bible by many of its friends of disorderly minds. As a consequence, those lacking mental order are confused and misunderstand the Scriptures, while those of orderly minds, disgusted with the misrepresentations and inconsistencies, will not even examine the Bible Revelation.
Whoever opens his Bible expecting it to describe the ages and dispensations as we shall here attempt to portray them will be disappointed. The Lord declares His Plan to be shrouded in Mystery and understandable only from the one standpoint of consecration and illumination by the holy Spirit. This, of course, refers mainly to the "deep things of God." There are also surface truths of great value connected with the Divine Revelation. The extent of our ability to understand is dependent upon faith, obedience and the observance of order. In proportion as we have or have not this ability we may understand or misunderstand the Bible.
Three Worlds and Three Dispensations.
The English reader is somewhat disadvantaged by the fact that in our common version the word "world" does duty for three distinctly Greek words. Thus, for instance, when our Lord mentions the end of the age or dispensation our common version Bible renders it "the end of the world." This, to the average reader, signifies a general collapse of the earth--its destruction, in fact, or, as a habitation for man. No such thought attaches to the Greek word, aeon, however. An aeon is an epoch or age. The Lord declared that the present aeon or age would end, ushering in a new age or "world to come." As a matter of fact, three different worlds are brought to our attention in the Bible-- and the Millennium will be in the beginning of the third. The Scriptural declaration is that "the earth abideth forever"-- "seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, as long as the sun and moon endure."-- Eccl. 1:4; Gen. 8:22.
These three "worlds" or three dispensations noted in the Bible are so distinctly different and so accurately described that none need mistake them. The first dispensation or world lasted from Eden to the flood. It was marked as the period of the administration of the angels, and in it, as we have already seen, some of them fell from their first estate of loyalty and obedience, further corrupting the world of mankind. Following the flood a new dispensation began, marked by the fact that the fallen angels no longer were permitted of the Lord full liberty of association with men. Man was permitted to have control of the earth, and Divine providence worked little interference except to prevent sin from going to such extremes as would have defeated the Divine plans to be developed later. This period from the flood to the Second Coming of Christ is Scripturally designated "this present evil world"--not because there has been nothing meritorious during its forty-four hundred years, but because God has permitted evil to dominate the earth during this period. As we have already seen, God [OV27] is not the author of its confusion, sin and disorder, but he has permitted mankind liberty within certain bounds. He has permitted Satan to oppose righteousness and permitted humanity to become the slaves of sin and of Satan.
Satan is Scripturally declared to be the "Prince of this world," who now operates in the hearts of the children of disobedience. We are not to understand, however, that Satan is exercising a Divinely delegated authority to rule mankind, but rather that he has usurped his position by taking advantage of humanity's ignorance, fallen tendencies and superstitions. Neither are we to think that humanity knowingly and intentionally serves "the Prince of this world." Rather, under his delusions they are deceived. While thinking to please themselves, to serve their own best interests, to attain happiness, they are misled into sin and sorrow and death by paths of ignorance and superstition. What St. Paul calls "this present evil world," St. Peter denominates "the world that now is," and points us forward to the New World, the New Dispensation, in which righteousness will reign, and styles that dispensation "the world to come."
All three of these "worlds" or dispensations are connected with our planet, the earth. Following this figure, the Apostle divides these "worlds" or dispensations into heaven and earth, by the heavens referring to the spirit beings and influences, and by the earth referring to humanity subjected to those spiritual influences. Thus in the "world" or dispensation which ended at the flood, the angels, fallen and unfallen, constituted the heavens and mankind the earth of that dispensation. During "this present evil world" from the flood to the Second Coming of Christ the heavens represent Satan, the "Prince of the power of the air," and religious systems amongst men, more or less corrupt and more or less representative of Satan and of his organization-- or rather of human organization more or less under Satanic direction. "The world to come" is likewise represented as having a heaven and earth classification. The heavens of that new dispensation will be the glorified Jesus and his Church, in the Millennial Kingdom.
In the first "world" or dispensation the corruption of its heavens or angelic class brought degradation and disaster to the earth class, humanity. During this "present evil world" the power of Satan and the corrupting spiritual influences which he has been able to manipulate have hindered the blessing of mankind, notwithstanding God's favor given to Israel under the Law Covenant and his still greater blessings to Jew and Gentile through Christ. The next "world" or dispensation, to be ushered in at the Second Coming of Christ, is Scripturally styled "a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. 3:13.) That new heavens will be perfect, and consist of Christ and his "Elect" Church or "Bride" glorified--"called, chosen, faithful." (Rev. 17:14.) That new earth will represent mankind under the new conditions of the New Covenant, sealed with the precious blood. Not only in the new heaven, but also in the new earth righteousness will prevail, even though in the latter it will require the thousand years of Christ's reign to fully conquer sin and death and to uplift humanity in general back into harmony with God.
"In the Ages to Come."
St. Paul mentions "ages to come," though only one of these is specifically noted in the Scriptures--the Millennial age. The other ages beyond the Millennium will be beyond all the defilements and ensnarements and tribulations connected with sin; and are properly, therefore, styled by the poet, "Ages of glory." Looking back, however, we may discern clearly-marked ages or epochs, subdividing "this present evil world." First came the Patriarchal Age, in which God dealt with Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then came another distinctly different epoch in which He no longer dealt with individual patriarchs, but adopted the entire nation of Israel as his peculiar people and dealt with them accordingly. He entered into the Law Covenant with them and provided them a typical mediator, typical underpriests and judges and prophets, so that, as the Apostle Paul declares, the nation of Israel had "much advantage every way, chiefly because to them [OV28] were committed the oracles of God." That Jewish Age had a distinct beginning in the death of Jacob, whose twelve sons were designated the heads of the twelve tribes constituting the one nation of Israel. That age had an ending just as distinctly marked by the death of Christ, as shown by Jesus' words, "Verily I say unto you, your house is left unto you desolate." (Matt. 23:38.) A third age followed, namely, the Gospel Age, which began at Pentecost and is to terminate at the second coming of Christ and to gather to himself the completed church, the Bride of the Lamb and joint-heir in the Millennial Kingdom.
The present Gospel Age, which is to end with the establishment of the Kingdom, the Church in glory, is the particular and all-important age of "this present evil world." Neither of those preceding it brought any fruitage to full perfection. The patriarchs received a blessing, but could not enter into the Kingdom privileges. The nation of Israel had a blessing through the Law Covenant, yet its highest service was the making of types of glorious conditions to follow it, some of the antitypes belonging to this Gospel Age and some to the Millennium. It is the Apostle who declares of that Age that its Law Covenant "made nothing perfect." Nevertheless, the same Apostle points out in Hebrews 11 that all who were faithful to God from Enoch down to the close of the Jewish Age will receive a special blessing, in accord with their faith and zeal-- even though they lived before the time of the calling and proving of the spiritual Seed of Abraham--the Gospel Church, of which Christ is the Head. ("And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's Seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29.) Of those faithful ones St. Paul declares, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better things for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."-- Heb. 11:39,40.
In a word, the Divine Program arranged that the world should be blessed by Messiah--through his death and subsequently through his Millennial Kingdom reign. But instead of counting the work finished when the Redeemer died, the Divine Program set apart the entire Gospel Age for the selection of the Bride of Christ, under another figure spoken of as the "members in particular of the Body of Christ." (1 Cor. 12:27.) These are said to fill up the afflictions of Christ, to suffer with him, to be dead with him, and are correspondingly promised a share with him in his glory, honor and immortality.
This Age Parenthetic.
It may help some to grasp the situation if they will consider the Gospel Age from Pentecost to the Second Coming of Christ as parenthetic, and in their minds link together the Jewish and the Millennial Ages. The Jews, properly enough, were expecting Messiah to come to their nation, to establish them as his "peculiar people," to sanctify them and to use them in the spread of his dominion world-wide, according to the promise made to Abraham that in "his Seed all the families of the earth should be blessed." They were right in that expectation, and it will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ. What they did not see and what God did not wish them to see, but kept a "mystery," is the fact that the Divine Program included a Christ of many members, Jesus the Redeemer being the head over all, "God blessed forever." (Rom. 9:5.) "This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church." (Eph. 5:32.) "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26,27.) God will do no less for natural Israel than his original promise, for, as St. Paul declares, "The gifts and calling of God he will not repent of"--nor change from.
The bringing in of the Bible hope of this Gospel Age, the selecting of a "little flock" for joint-heirship with the Redeemer on the spirit plane, was that much more than God had revealed to Israel through the Law and the prophets. Some of natural Israel profited by this--all those who, at the beginning of the Gospel Age, were in the right attitude of heart, "Israelites indeed in whom was no guile." Such were received to membership in spiritual [OV29] Israel at Pentecost. And then to filling up of the remainder of the predestinated number of the "elect," from among the Gentiles began; and this age has been devoted to the gathering of these "members" of the Christ, the Messiah, out of every land, people, kindred and tongue.
The Law Covenant--Old and New.
Continue the thought of this Gospel Age being parenthetic as respects the outward features of the Divine Program. Note the fact that the Law Covenant given to the Jews failed to secure for them eternal life --because they could not keep so high a Law, a Law which commanded love for God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength and love for one's neighbor as for himself. Moses, the Mediator of that Law Covenant, was unable to make up for the deficiencies of the people and hence eternal life was not secured under the Law Covenant. However, through the Prophet Jeremiah (31:31) God sent to Israel a message of his love and assured them of a future relief under a New Covenant which, in some respects, would be better than the one they had. He said, "The days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt (the Law Covenant); which my Covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord."--Jer. 31:31,32.
Christ and his Bride, his members, Spiritual Israel, surrender their earthly life rights and earthly inheritance in favor of Natural Israel, and thus are said to mediate and ultimately to seal for Israel a New Law Covenant, which will be far better than the old one. Not, however, that the Law of God will change in any respect; for God could not give an easier Law than the one given to Israel; he could not give an imperfect Law; he could not properly require less than love and obedience with all the heart. Wherein, then, will a New Law Covenant be better for Israel than the old one? We answer, It will be better in that it will have a "better mediator"--a more capable one. Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant; and all those called of God and accepted as his "members" during this Gospel Age will be members of the Mediator. To this Mediator, by reason of the merit of the Head and his sacrifice, God has granted "all power," so that he is able from the plenitude of his grace to make up for the unwilling, the unintentional, blemishes of the nation for which he will serve as Mediator during the thousand years of his Millennial reign. It is on the strength of this merit of the Mediator that all of Israel's sins and iniquities of the past will be forgotten and remembered no more. Moreover that Great Mediator will have full responsibility in the premises in dealing with all who shall accept that Covenant, because the virtue, the merit of Christ's sacrifice, is sufficient to meet, to cover, to cancel the sins of the whole world --all that are not willful and deliberate sins. Israel will thus become God's people, and all gentiles will be privileged to join them by "circumcision of the heart." Thus, ultimately, besides spiritual Israel there will be Natural Israel, which will include the willing and obedient of every nation and tongue as it is written, "I have constituted thee a father of many nations."
During the Millennium, therefore, Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and "the church his Body," will not only apply the merits of his sacrifice in offset of Adamic sin and weaknesses, but will also have the right, power and authority to chastise for every misconduct and to reward every good endeavor, to the intent that under that New Covenant all Israel may have the opportunity of rising from the dead--rising from the condition of sin and death up to the full perfection of human nature and a perfect environment. As for the others not rightly exercised by these favorable providences St. Peter declares that they "Shall be utterly destroyed from among the people."--Acts 3:23.
From Amongst Your Brethren.
St. Peter explains the nature of the selection of the members of the Mediator, saying, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from amongst your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear (obey) in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. (To that Prophet every [OV30] knee must bow and every tongue confess.) And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people"--in the Second Death.--Acts 3:22,23.
Notice that the Prophet was to be raised up from amongst the brethren. In fulfillment of this our Lord Jesus was called and accepted and begotten of the holy Spirit, and finally, in his resurrection, became the Firstborn from the dead, the Firstborn of many brethren. Meantime, since Pentecost the other members under that glorious Head have been in process of raising up-- out of sin, out of death, out of the world, out of human nature, to glory, honor, and immortality. And these have the promise that in the First Resurrection their raising up will be completed--they shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The raising up and the changing begin with the present life. As the Apostle declares, "We are risen with him." And again, We are being changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. But still we wait for the grand climacteric change to Resurrection glory, honor and immortality.
In view of the foregoing all will readily discern the value of order in the study of the Bible--the value of noting its dispensational features, the object served by the various "worlds" or dispensations and their various ages or epochs. The Bible, studied in the light of the Plan of the Ages, becomes a new Book. Its various statements, prophetic and otherwise, quietly drop into their proper places, so that the study of the Word becomes both interesting and profitable, as thousands are continually testifying--many of them rescued from agnosticism.
THE COMING STORM
O SAD is my heart for the storm that is coming;
Like eagles the scud sweepeth in from the sea;
The gull seeketh shelter, the pine trees are sighing,
And all giveth note of the tempest to be.
A spell hath been whispered from cave and from ocean,
The shepherds are sleeping, the sentinels dumb,
The flocks are all scattered on moorland and mountain,
And no one believes that the Master is come.
He's come, but whom doth He find their watch keeping?
O where--in His presence--is faith the world o'er?
The rich, every sense in soft luxury steeping;
The poor, scarce repelling the wolf from the door.
O man, and O maiden, drop trifling and pleasure,
O! hark, while I tell of the sorrows to be,--
As well might I plead in the path of yon glacier,
Or cry out a warning to wave of the sea!
[OV31]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
VII--THE PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION OF
THE BIBLE
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
THE PRESENT generation but little appreciates the awful import of the words predestination and election as they were understood by their fathers in connection with the Divine Program in respect to mankind. The reason of this is, that these doctrines have not been taught to any extent during the last forty years. The catechisms which formerly instructed the children, the youth and the gray-haired, have now very generally been relegated to the rubbish heaps. A few tell us that this is because the public today "will not endure sound doctrine." (2 Tim. 4:3.) Our reply is, that the view of predestination and election entertained by our forefathers for centuries was neither sound doctrine nor sound reason. It was opposed alike to common sense and to the Scriptures. We are glad that the travesties upon the Divine Character and Government formerly identified with words predestination and election are no longer acceptable to any.
True, several of the largest denominations still declare that the "Westminster Confession of Faith" is theirs, but we know that in private conversation and in their hearts, this feature, at least, of that confession is ignored and denied. It speaks well for Presbyterianism that, while still holding to the Westminster Confession, it has adopted a new statement of faith for public consumption, which, while not denying these features, most happily ignores them.
The Erroneous View Criticised.
By way of emphasizing what the Bible does not teach, let us briefly review the rapidly-fading error on the subject of Predestination and election; errors which, perhaps, did more than almost any others to turn men away from God and from the Bible. Let it be understood that we are not criticising men, but doctrines. While criticising the doctrines of Brother Calvin, we are glad to admit that he had many noble qualities of heart and head, and that, in some respects, his teaching has exercised a powerful influence in the world for good. Undoubtedly his views of the sovereignty of God--his justice and his power--exercised a marked influence upon Christian sentiment along this line, leading to a greater reverence for Divine power, though we fear that it did not do much to cultivate love for God. From the Calvinistic standpoint, the Almighty, perfect in wisdom and power, mapped out in advance an unalterable program represented by the words Divine Predestination. According to this theory, everything, both good and bad, was foreordained and in its execution unavoidable. This doctrine, applied to humanity, declares that the Supreme Creator had from the beginning designed, predestinated, that a little handful, a saintly few, should constitute his elect, his favorites and be granted glorious things in heaven. The catechism was careful to mark out that this favoritism on God's part was "not for any works or worthiness of ours, but of his own sovereign will." Giving these words their full weight would signify that if the sovereign will had exercised itself with similar benevolence towards the non-elect, they, too, would have shared the heavenly blessings. And since the Divine favor was not assumed to be connected with work or worthiness on our part it [OV32] follows that the lack of works and the lack of worthiness, on the part of the non-elect, need not have debarred them from the chiefest of Divine favors had Divine benevolence willed favorably toward them.
As for the fate of the non-elect, their case was treated with the greatest delicacy possible to the situation by the pen of an able man. We were quietly informed that "God passed them by." The doctrine of total depravity lay at the bottom of this theory. It was claimed that Father Adam's transgression of the Divine Law merited eternal torment as the portion of Justice for himself and every child of his that should ever be born. We were told that this was a just penalty, and that God through Christ merely released the elect as an exhibition of his love and grace--passing the others by--not electing to save them from torment. And the doctrine of predestination attached to the doctrine of election by way of showing that God's elective preferences for those whom he would favor were determined long in advance of their birth, and that with equal deliberation he had foreordained that no help, no adequate relief, should be granted to the non-elect; they should be thoroughly passed by, and allowed to go to the doom to which they were sentenced-- eternal torment. And that doom and the numbers of the non-elect were fully known to God in advance and approved as his unalterable will, his supreme good pleasure.
Wesley's Heart Rebelled.
John Wesley was reared under the influence of the above teachings, but, as a minister of the Episcopal Church, he felt that he could not so preach. His head declined to recognize such a course as loving even if it were just, and his heart wholly repudiated the thought that the Divine character and program could be after that manner. In his own largeness of heart Brother Wesley promulgated an opposite theory, namely, that since God is Love he must be doing all in his power to save our race from eternal torment. Brother Wesley urged that the millions who would reach eternal torment would get there on their own responsibility and in spite of God's best efforts to keep them out of it. Noble soul that he was, he braved persecution in his day in his attempt to tell of his love of God and to urge sinners not to consider themselves non-elect and doomed to eternal torture, but to hearken to the voice of Divine mercy and to turn to the Lord with their whole heart and be abundantly pardoned.
Wesley's heart-teaching triumphed over Calvin's logic. Not only has it resulted in the formation of the enormous bodies of Christians called Methodists, but far more than this, it has transformed the views of the Christian world of all denominations so that today, regardless of the denominational vows, the membership of practically every institution of Christendom holds to Wesley's views.
Both Right and Both Wrong.
Having commended both Calvin and Wesley as children of God, and many of the followers of their teachings as saints, it might seem to some temerity on our part to offer criticism of either, and particularly of both. We are encouraged to do this, however, from two reasons:
1. We wish to show that in some respects both of these doctrines are right and scriptural, and in other respects wrong and unscriptural.
2. We are further encouraged to do this by the fact that denominationally these opposing doctrines are about evenly represented in the world, and all will admit that they cannot both be right while contradicting each other.
3. If we shall succeed in demonstrating that these two opposing systems can be harmonized and that elements of both can be shown to be Scriptural and to harmonize with each other, then we believe that the advocates of both schools of thought would have reason to thank us for the service, and thousands who, through the conflict of these doctrines, have lost their faith in the Bible as the Word of God, may be rescued from unbelief.
Reject the Errors First.
Before coming to the subject from the Scriptural standpoint, we must tear away some of the sophistries and errors connected [OV33] with these popular doctrines and must see them in their true light, in order that we may properly appreciate the teachings of the Scriptures on the subject.
First, then, let us note the strong points of Calvinism which must stand, which can never be repudiated by God's children with impunity--Divine Sovereignty, Foreknowledge, Purpose, Intention, Justice, and Power. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." (Acts 15:18.) Note his own declaration through the Prophet, "So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I sent it."--Isa. 55:11.
We must agree with Calvinism in the Divine foreknowledge of whatsoever comes to pass; and, more than this, that nothing could come to pass contrary to the Divine permission, although many things do come to pass, contrary to the Divine Law--being permitted for wise purposes. But while agreeing with Brother Calvin respecting these strong points of the Divine character, we must agree with Brother Wesley that love is not only an element of the Divine Character, but is, with justice, a dominating element in the Divine Program. We must agree with Brother Wesley that neither human justice nor human love could predestinate the doom of eternal torment for a majority of our race--nor for a single member of it. We must agree with Wesley that the Divine Program is that, eventually, God's grace of forgiveness for sin must be free grace, and must extend to every member of our race. If our standpoint of the freeness of this grace is broader than that of Brother Wesley, it may not signify that our hearts are broader than his, but that the due time has come for the lifting of the vail of ignorance and superstition and the permitting of the eyes of our understanding to see more clearly "with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of "Love Divine, all love excelling," "and to know the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."-- Eph. 3:18,19.
Having shown that Brother Calvin's view recognized God as dignified and omnipotent, but deficient in love, it is appropriate that we show that Brother Wesley, while recognizing a God of Divine love theoretically, implied his deficiency in wisdom and foreknowledge. Brother Wesley admitted with Brother Calvin that only the handful of the saintly believers would enter heaven, and he admitted with him also that all the remainder would go to an eternity of torture. The difference between the two theories, therefore, had no practical bearing upon the sufferings of the lost, but merely upon the Divine character, and provision in connection with the suffering. Calvin taught that God willed it so. Wesley disputed this.
Evidently "the God of all grace" would need to embody in himself not only the loving qualities of Wesley's ideal, but also the dignity, wisdom and power of Calvin's ideal--between the two we would find the God of the Bible and the God of whom our reasons could approve. Fully balanced, fully co-ordinated, God's Justice, Love, Wisdom and Power, should be displayed in his dealings with humanity. What would it profit us to have the loving God of Wesley's teachings, who desired all sorts of good things for his creatures, if, with that love, he lacked the wisdom to direct a favorable plan or lacked the power to execute the favorable plan approved by his Wisdom and his Love? Let us rest assured that the God revealed in the Bible is perfect in all of his attributes. His Foreknowledge, looking down the avenues of time, would have foreseen every incident connected with the interests of his creatures. And had that Foreknowledge perceived that Divine Justice could not grant to the creature eternal life in bliss, but must perpetuate the existence in eternal suffering, then Divine Wisdom and Love would surely have determined that Divine Power should not be exercised for the creation of that being; and Divine Justice would surely have decreed that no being should be created whom Divine Wisdom foresaw must spend an eternity of misery.
Specious Arguments Rejected.
We are not ignorant of the specious [OV34] arguments advanced by Brother Wesley and his coadjutors:
1. That God could create a human soul, but could not destroy one. Absurd! Unscriptural! We answer, Is it not written "All the wicked will be destroyed?" (Psa. 145:20.) And again, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4); "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matt. 10:28); "The wages of sin is death."--Rom. 6:23.
2. The specious argument that God has left the destinies of the heathen in our hands and has determined that, dying at the rate of ninety-five millions a day, they should be sent to eternal torment if Christian people do not send them word respecting Christ and his redemptive work. How absurd! Is it any wonder that infidelity laughs to scorn so abominable a misrepresentation of Divine Justice and Love? Surely the Heavenly Father's character has been grossly traduced by his own family, his own children! Our hearts and our heads cry out for the living and true God of the Bible, who knew what he was doing when he undertook the creation of our race--a God not only benevolent in his designs, but thoroughly wise, capable and powerful for the carrying out of all his intentions. In the Bible, and in it alone, we find portrayed a God of this character, with a Plan of this calibre.
Election and Free Grace.
Briefly stated, the Scriptures teach an election in the present age of the "Church of the Firstborns, whose names are written in heaven," but it does not teach that the non-elect are doomed to eternal torment. It does teach that the dead are really dead, but not hopelessly dead, not dead as the brute beasts. It teaches that the sentence of death came upon our entire race, and has resulted in our mental, moral and physical blemish and decay. It teaches that the death sentence upon us as a race would have been an eternal one, had it not been for God's mercy expressed through Jesus and the work he has accomplished and will yet accomplish for our race. It teaches that the hope of our race is a resurrection from the dead, and a release from the domination of imperfection and sin.
The Bible does not teach that Free Grace has yet reached mankind, but, on the contrary, that an elective process is now in operation, and that in due time, after the election shall have accomplished its selection of the Bride of Christ, then Free Grace will obtain throughout the whole earth and every creature will be brought to a knowledge of the Lord--"all the blind eyes shall be opened, all the deaf ears shall be unstopped." That time of Free Grace will be the Millennial Age; and throughout that Age the Church of Christ, now being elected, will be joint-heirs with Jesus in his Kingdom and its glorious work for human uplifting from sin and death conditions. Thus "the elect" of this present time will ultimately be used of the Lord as his "Royal Priesthood" under Christ Jesus their Head, their Chief Priest, in blessing of all the families of the earth with the fullest and most absolute opportunity of attaining restitution to human perfection and life eternal--or, rejecting this favor, to die the Second Death, to be as though they had never been.
We are asked, Do not the Scriptural statements which teach that there will be an "elect" Church, thereby imply that the masses of mankind are non-elect? and if non-elect surely they cannot go to the same happy abode with the elect, but must be remanded to eternal torture!
How strange that these evil surmisings respecting the character and Program of the Heavenly Father should so persist in our minds! Do we reason so falsely on other subjects? The civilized world in our day is accustomed to this word election. We elect Legislatures and Congresses. The number chosen to these offices is small indeed in comparison to the populace. Thus continually we have before our mind's eye an elect little company and the non-elect multitudes--millions. Do we reason that those not elected to the Legislature or to Congress, by reason of their non-election, must surely suffer some kind of torment? And is it not equally preposterous to reason after this fashion in respect to the elect and non-elect of the Scriptures?
On the contrary, as legislators and judges are chosen from amongst the people because of their supposed suitability for special work and as they are ordained [OV35] in office for the purpose of conserving the interests of the non-elect, so let us see the election so prominent in the Divine Program. The Church is being elected to membership in the Body of Christ--in the Spiritual Seed of Abraham. And the Divine declaration is that in this Seed of Abraham, this elect Church, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Surely this is the only reasonable and sane view of this question, the only Scriptural view, the only view which enables us to appreciate the character and the Program of our God in dealing with Adam and his race.--Galatians 3:29.
Foreknowledge and Predestination.
Has God predestined or determined in advance just which individuals shall be blessed with the opportunities of the High Calling of this Gospel Age to joint heirship with Christ? and, correspondingly, has he predestined which members of our race may have the Restitution blessings of the next Age? and which shall be esteemed unworthy of eternal life on any plane and be remanded to death--the "Second Death;" eternal destruction? We reply that nothing in the Scriptures can possibly be construed to favor the view suggested. The predestinations of the Bible are of a Divine character. The Creator foreknew man's fall into sin and its death penalty, and his own plan for redeeming and restoring the race. He fore-knew that he would tender the privilege of being the Redeemer, first to his only begotten Son. But the matter was open to the volition of the Logos. It was not compulsory, but optional with him.
Likewise, our Creator foreordained or predestinated that an opportunity would be granted to some of the race to become joint-heirs with the Redeemer in his Kingdom and nature--such a class was predestinated, foreordained, but no suggestion was offered as to the individuals to compose that foreordained class. On the contrary, the statement is definitely made, that in harmony with the Divine Program many should be called to this high position in comparison to the few that would be chosen. And the conditions upon which any of the called ones would be chosen are clearly set forth in the Scriptures; and those favored with the call are specially exhorted to consider the matter as wholly dependent upon their own faithfulness, because "Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do"--all that he has promised; hence it remains with the called ones to "make their calling and election sure."-- 1 Thessalonians 5:24.
St. Paul sets forth this matter of predestination in most explicit language, and distinctly points out that Divine predestination does not apply to the individual, but to the class and to the characteristics of all who will belong to that class. He predestinated that none could come into harmony with him or be eligible to this class unless first they believed in Christ as their Redeemer, turning from sin-- unless first they were justified through faith in the precious blood. Next they must consecrate, taking upon themselves holy vows of devotion to the Lord, his Truth and his service--even unto death. Not only so, but to the best of their ability those consecration vows must be kept, must be lived day by day to the end of their period of trial and testing. Meantime, begotten of the holy Spirit, these favored ones must cultivate the fruits and the graces of the Spirit and become at heart copies of God's dear Son, however blemish and imperfection may affect some of their outward conduct and words.
This is God's predestination; says the Apostle, "Whom he did foreknow (the elect Church), he also did predestinate (predetermine) to be conformed to the image of his Son." (Rom. 8:29.) Whoever of the "called" ones fails to attain the character likeness of Christ fails to make his calling and election sure, and will be rejected from membership in the same, because God has predestined that none shall be of that glorious elect company except such as, by his assisting grace in Christ, shall attain to the glorious character likeness of the Redeemer.
We hold that from this stand-point, the doctrine of God's elections and fore-ordinations in respect to the Church and those who shall become members thereof is a glorious one, and one well calculated to develop Christian character, to enthuse with apostolic zeal the called ones. And as to the Free Grace of the Divine Plan surely it is a most glorious provision from [OV36] this standpoint--promising blessed opportunities to every member of the race. As it is written, Christ, "the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."--John 1:9.
A beautiful symbolic picture of the Millennial Age and the blessings extending to all mankind under Israel's New Covenant, is set before us in the Book of Revelation. First the "elect" Church is pictured as "the New Jerusalem adorned as a Bride for her husband" descending from heaven to earth, establishing the Divine rule amongst men. Then follows a further symbolization: "a river of the Water of Life, clear as crystal," is represented as "proceeding forth from the throne" of the New Jerusalem, flowing out to bless all the nations of the world. The result is Paradise with trees of life by both sides of the River and "the leaves of the trees for the healing of the heathen." Then we read the message of Free Grace, so attractive to Brother Wesley and to us all--"And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him come and take of the Water of Life freely."--Rev. 22:17.
ONE HERE, ONE THERE
OF all we meet in life's great stream,
There's but one here and there
Who treasures most the better things;
Each man to self most tightly clings,
For self he toils, for self he sings,
Except one here, one there.
The world would be a desolate place,
But for one here and there,
Whose heart with self hath not been filled,
Whose love for God hath not been killed,
Whose thankful praise hath not been stilled;
There's one such here and there.
And this hath been the Lord's wise will,
To find one here, one there,
Who counting earthly gain but dross,
Would daily take the Christian's cross,
E'en at the risk of any loss:--
God finds one here and there.
'Tis not the numbers that He seeks,
But just one here, one there;
He seeks not souls, but jewels fair,
For those who will His suff'ring share,
And for His sake reproaches bear;
They're few; one here, one there!
But oh! the grandeur of the work
For this one here and there,
To join in lifting up our race,
To wipe away of sin each trace,
To make of earth a perfect place,
Put glory everywhere!
[OV37]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
VIII--THE JUDGMENT SCENE BEFORE THE GREAT
WHITE THRONE
BY C. T. RUSSELL
PASTOR BROOKLYN TABERNACLE
ST. PAUL DECLARES that Christian believers, when they receive the Holy Spirit, "Receive not the spirit of bondage and fear, but the spirit of a sound mind." For the long centuries of the dark ages, however, Christianity was merely a nominal affair, except with the very few. Instead of the Holy Spirit, instead of the spirit of love and of a sound mind, the world was at that time dominated by a spirit of fear. To some extent this is still true. Nevertheless, increase of knowledge is taking some of the shackles of fear from off of the intellects and permitting us to look at everything more honestly, more logically, more with the spirit of a sound mind than ever before. We are glad of this, and purpose now to examine our subject in the light of the Scriptures and with the spirit of a sound mind, divesting ourselves, so far as possible, of the "fear which bringeth a snare."
The Day of Judgment, or, as it once was called, Doomsday, had an awful significance to our forefathers. To them it brought pictures of Christ upon his throne of judgment surrounded by myriads of holy angels intent upon executing his decrees, good or bad, and to the vast majority of those decrees were supposed to mean eternal torment. A once famous preacher of this famous city of churches pictured the Judgment scene most grotesquely as represented in the public prints of about thirty years ago.
He pictured the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus in his power and great glory, seated upon a cloud in mid-heaven, surrounded by angelic hosts. Before him appeared the world of mankind, brought back from heaven and hell and the dust of the earth. In grandiloquent language he pictured the earth turning upon its axis during a period of twenty-four hours, so that the entire worldful of people could see the Judge on his cloud-throne. The Judgment picture was a mere farce, for the Judge merely said to those who had come from heaven, Go back. Resume your crowns and harps. And he said to those who had come from hell, Go back to your eternal torment.
This and other very similar misrepresentations of the Day of Judgment have so repulsed the intelligence of many as to turn their minds away from the Bible toward Agnosticism. It is our purpose on this occasion to, if possible, set forth the Bible presentation of Divine Truth on the subject of God's Judgments so clearly, so self-evidently, that none possessed of a sound balance of mind could possibly object thereto.
A Judgment Day in Eden.
A totally wrong thought seems to have gotten possession of all of our minds in respect to the meaning of the Day of Judgment. It is generally understood to signify a day of condemnation. However, the expression in the Scriptures really signifies a day of crisis, a time of decision, a period of trial;--not a day of inflicting punishments for crimes previously adjudicated. The Greek word crisis translated judgment has been so frequently used in our English language that it has become an English word as well. Hence its meaning, the same in the Greek as in the English, is well known to us all. For instance, [OV38] if in our home we have a patient who has taken the fever and a doctor calls, we may inquire how soon recovery may be expected. The doctor asks the date the fever began, and answers that its crisis will come on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, or some other day a multiple of the seventh day from its commencement. His meaning is, that then the testing will come, the trial, the determination whether the person will sink into death or recover from the fever. This gives us the proper thought connected with this word crisis or judgment; the proper thought, therefore, connected with the expression, Day of Judgment. For instance, there was such a Day of Judgment in Eden when God forbade our first parents to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At that moment their testing, their trial, their judgment, began--to demonstrate their obedience or disobedience, and thus in turn to determine their worthiness or unworthiness of life eternal. In that Judgment Day, as we have already seen, our first parents were disobedient and a death condemnation came upon them, which has been inherited by all of their children in a natural way. Partaking of their flesh and blood, we partook also of their weaknesses, mental, moral and physical; hence we are a dying race--dying because our first parents failed in the first Day of Judgment or trial.
The Jewish Judgment Day.
While God foreknew that the Law Covenant made with the nation of Israel through Moses would not effect a deliverance of the nation from the effects of original sin, he nevertheless, for good reasons, gave that nation a trial or judgment or testing under the provisions of that Law Covenant. It was a life or death agreement. Any who could keep the requirements of that Law Covenant might under it claim eternal life. Whoever failed of keeping the requirements of that Law Covenant would die. This trial or test came upon that nation at the time of its deliverance from Egypt, when they passed through the Red Sea and were baptised into Moses in the sea and in the cloud--the sea on the one hand and the cloud overhead. They were baptized or buried into Moses. For nearly fifteen centuries that nation was on trial or judgment, yet the results of the judgment were not decreed until our Lord's Second Advent, when he was declared of the Father to be the One, and the only One born under the Law Covenant who inherited its blessings of eternal life by absolute obedience to its every requirement. Not only so, but the remainder of that nation were all adjudged unworthy of any further trial, as our Lord himself expressed the sentiment, saying: "Your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord--at his Second Advent.--Matt. 23:38,39.
The Apostle Paul, reviewing the results of those fifteen centuries of their judgment or trial, tells us that the Law Covenant made nothing perfect; that it merely showed to be perfect the Perfect One who had left the heavenly Courts and become a man, in order to redeem Adam and his race. St. Paul, however, shows us also that, throughout that Jewish Age of trial some were found possessed of faith far beyond their fellows. He enumerates many of these, and then calls attention to the fact that they died without having received the things promised to them, but that they did receive Divine approval in that the Lord declared that they pleased him--not by perfection of works and obedience to the Law Covenant, but that he was pleased with their faith: they demonstrated that if they had been free from the blemishes of the fallen condition, blessed with perfect bodies and minds, they would have delighted to have kept the Law perfectly.
Spiritual Israel's Judgment.
The Gospel Age is represented as an epoch of trial or testing or judgment for the Church of Christ--the Body of Christ --those to be joint-heirs with Christ in his nature and his throne--"the Bride, the Lamb's Wife."
The Scriptures point out to us that during this epoch God is drawing and calling from the world of mankind a "little flock," and that he is permitting the way of response to his call to be made a narrow one and a very difficult one. This [OV39] is to the intent that the class that will hear, obey and walk in the footsteps of Jesus in this narrow way may be a very special class, a "little flock," each one of them copies of God's dear Son, the dear Redeemer. It will be seen, then, that in a very special sense there is a trial, a testing, a judgment, in progress--not a judgment in respect to the world, but of those who have accepted the "call" and made living sacrifices of themselves in the Lord's service, to the knowing and doing of the Lord's will. These are required to make their calling and election sure by demonstrating their loyalty to the Lord and his Word and the brethren, under various trying conditions, of which the Apostle Peter says, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." (1 Pet. 4:12.) The trials are necessary for the development of character and for the proving of the faithful ones; hence the overcomers in this trial must be found faithful, not only in reaching the mark of perfect love, but in maintaining their stand there, resisting the various attacks of the flesh and of the Adversary. Such "conquerors" will be granted "the crown of life," which God has in reservation for them that thus love him.
With the end of this age, the trial or judgment will be completed, finished. The "little flock" of overcomers will receive the reward of joint heirship with their Lord and participation in Divine nature; while those not counted worthy of this glory, yet faithful in many respects, will receive blessings of spiritual nature without the "crown." Others still, failing entirely in the trial, will be accounted unworthy of eternal life on any plane, and will die the Second Death, as says the Apostle: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Heb. 6:4-6.) Again, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."--Heb. 10:26-27.
The World's Judgment Day.
The Apostle declares: "God hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."--Acts 17:31.
It will be noticed that this cannot apply to the original Judgment Day, in which our first parents failed in Eden; neither can the words apply to the judgment or trial which came to Israel under the Law Covenant, nor to the church on trial during this Gospel Age; because it is put in the future tense. The Apostle used these words in the beginning of this Gospel Age and the words apply beyond this Gospel Age to an appointed day or epoch future. The day referred to is "the day of Christ"--the Millennial Age --the thousand year day of the reign of righteousness, when Messiah shall be King over all the earth, to rescue it from the reign of sin and death and to bless all the captives of sin and death--the entire human family, already redeemed by the precious blood. The Apostle's words clearly state that he refers, not to the church's trial period, but to the world's. Certain things are necessary to a righteous judgment or trial of the world.
1. They must all come to a knowledge of the Truth. (1 Tim. 2:4-6.) They cannot be saved in ignorance and superstition and vice. They must all be brought to a knowledge of the redemption accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ; to a knowledge of God's willingness to receive them back again into his fellowship. They must all be proffered assistance out of the degradation which came upon them through the disobedience and fall of our first parents, in the first trial or judgment.
2. They cannot be on trial for life everlasting without first having been judicially set free from the original condemnation --the original death sentence pronounced upon our first parents in Eden and inherited by all of their children.
These conditions have not yet been met, [OV40] and hence the world is not yet experiencing this trial or judgment or testing which, the Apostle tells us, God has appointed for them. It will come to them, however, in the time appointed of the father, called in the Scriptures "God's due time." Furthermore, the time for the world's judgment or testing cannot come until the trial or testing of the church shall have been completed and the worthy ones been found, because it is the Church that is now on trial, and that is to furnish the judges for the world's trial day. Mark the Apostle's words to this effect: "Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2.) Nor is this thought out of harmony with the other text, "God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained." On the contrary, we have already seen that "the mystery" of this Gospel Age lies in the fact that Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, is the Head of the Church, which is his Body, and which is now being selected or tried or judged for its position in glory, only the faithful receiving the reward, or membership, in the glorious Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah, beyond the veil.
The wrong thought respecting the Day
of Judgment has made of it the day of
terrors to the Church and to the world--
all who have heard of it. It has been supposed
to seal the doom of humanity: that
thenceforth the Lord will have no pity and
show no mercy. But the Scriptures, consistent
with themselves, point out that the
coming Judgment Day of the world signifies,
to it, a great day of judgment,
trial and blessing; just as the Church's
judgment day signifies a great blessing to
us; the privilege of becoming heirs of
God and joint heirs with the Redeemer
in his Kingdom glory. As to these facts,
notice the words of inspiration by the
Prophet David. Prophetically looking
down beyond this time to the Millennial
Age, the Prophet declares:
"Let the heavens be glad,
And let the earth rejoice;
And let men say among the nations,
Jehovah reigneth.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
Let the fields rejoice, and all that are
therein.
Then shall the trees of the wood sing
aloud
At the presence of Jehovah;
BECAUSE HE COMETH
TO JUDGE THE EARTH.
O give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is
good;
For his mercy endureth forever."
To the same day the Apostle also points, assuring us that it will be a glorious and desirable day, and that for it the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together--waiting for the great Judge to deliver and to bless the world as well as to exalt and glorify the church.-- Rom. 8:21,22.
In John 5:28,29, a precious promise for the world of a coming judgment-trial for life everlasting is, by a mistranslation, turned into a fearful imprecation. According to the Greek text, however, they that have done evil--that have failed of Divine approval--will come forth unto resurrection (raising up to perfection) by judgments, "stripes," testings, disciplines. --See the Revised Version.
The Great White Throne.
The Book of Revelation is recognized by God's people to be a book of symbols. One of its beautiful pictures relates to the Judgment Day. We read, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."--Rev. 20:11-13.
This is one of a series of pen pictures of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ and the blessings it will bring to mankind-- the blessed privilege of a fresh judgment or trial for everlasting life. The first judgment of the race in Adam resulted in failure and condemnation of our first parents, and we were merely included in its losses, its disasters. By Divine arrangement, our Redeemer has died, the Just [OV41] for the unjust. The application of his merit to father Adam will extend a blessing eventually to every member of his race, securing to them all a full release from the original condemnation or sentence and from all of the blight which came upon our race as a result. Setting aside the original penalty does not give either Adam or his children eternal life, but merely provides for all a new judgment or fresh trial for eternal life. Adam had perfection of life and held it tentatively on condition of his obedience. The redeemed race will come back again to Adam's position of trial and testing, as respects worthiness of life everlasting.
However, instead of bringing mankind back by instantaneous process from the tomb and from our present fallen condition of mind and body to the full perfection of human nature, which Adam enjoyed, God proposes a still better way. He will give his fallen creatures through Christ an opportunity to climb up out of the sin and death conditions into which Adam's transgressions brought all. Some are more fallen; some less so. None could be recovered except by the Redeemer, whose death provides the ladder, so to speak, by which mankind can be raised up to full human perfection and Divine favor and all that was lost in Adam. The opportunity for thus rising up by their own exertions and by the assistance of the glorified Redeemer and his glorified Church will be during the Millennial Age. That opportunity will constitute the world's trial or judgment.
Various offices are attributed to our Lord, in connection with his great work for the world of mankind. Thus we read that he is to be the great Prophet, the great Priest, the great Mediator and the great Judge. We have already seen that the foundation for this great Kingdom and Judgship was laid in our Redeemer's sacrifice of himself; but the execution of the great Plan of God, the Divine Program, was delayed to permit the selection of the Church, the "little flock," the Judge and associate judges.
A gradual testing of the world by uplifting processes, by the binding of Satan and the making of the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth, etc., will be much better for all concerned than if they were instantly made perfect and then put on trial as Adam was. The thousand years of uplifting influences and the striving against sin and the forming of character according to the Divine will will be helpful to the world and enable them to overcome, in the trial which will come to them in this gradual way. Help at each step and assistance out of every unintentional blunder is provided until at last all the willing and obedient shall have reached the full perfection of human nature--all that was lost by Adam and redeemed by Jesus or, refusing it, will have been destroyed in the Second Death.
The "great white throne" represents the powers of the Government and the purity or fairness of the trial which will be granted to the world of mankind. When we read that heaven and earth fled away from the presence of him upon the throne, it identifies that throne with the end of this age, and the opening of the Millennial Age. Present institutions are represented thus: the heavens, the church, etc., and the earth the political and social interests of "this present evil world." As St. Peter tells us, present institutions shall "pass away with a great noise," and instead the Lord will reveal a new heavens and a new earth--that is to say, new spiritual powers, the Church in glory; and new earthly powers, the new political and social conditions--along better lines than those which now control: along lines of Justice and Love.
The judgment or trial is before God in the sense that it will be along the lines of the Divine Law, though the Law Giver in this trial will be represented by the glorified Mediator. The judgment will not be along new lines, but along old lines, as our Lord Jesus declared: "My Word shall judge you in the last days."
However, so far as the world is concerned, our Lord's words are as yet hidden mysteries, words not understood. Only the Church, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, has been able to appreciate the Divine Word clearly. But when the world's judgment or trial will be on, during the Millennium, the books will be opened--the books of the Bible--and the dead will be judged, will be tried, will be tested along the lines of teaching found in those books of the Bible. Those who give [OV42] heed to the message of the Lord, its doctrines, its precepts, will make progress from grace to grace, from knowledge to knowledge, from strength to strength. Their Restitution or Resurrection will gradually progress as the Truth tries or judges them and finds them responsive, obedient to the voice which speaketh from heaven. St. Peter tells us that it shall come to pass that the soul that will not obey that Prophet, that Teacher, that King, will be destroyed from amongst his people. (Acts 3:23.) On the contrary, all who do obey the Lord's Word will, by the close of that Millennial period, have reached a full human perfection, mental, moral and physical. They will be as perfect as was Adam, and additionally possess a wider range of knowledge, and many of them, we trust, a firm texture of developed character. Still, however, at the close of the Millennial Judgment Day a great final test will be provided, which will thoroughly demonstrate the heart loyalty or disloyalty of each one. And all the disloyal will be utterly destroyed in the Second Death, without hope of recovery of any kind.
The Sheep and the Goats.
Our Lord gave one of his parables to illustrate the world's judgment during the Millennium, the parable of the sheep and the goats. Its location is definitely fixed by the context, which shows that it will find its fulfillment during the Millennial Age--after the present age shall have closed. We read, "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." (Matt. 25:31,32.) This parable corresponds exactly to the "great white throne" picture of Revelation. It shows all nations, all peoples gathered before that throne, which will be established in power and great glory. The Son of man who will come in his glory and who will sit upon the throne has given us numerous assurances that the elect church shall sit with him in his throne. The church will not be amongst those sheep and goats before that throne, but, glorified as the Lamb's Wife, the Church will be with her Bridegroom in his throne judging all nations--judging them, proving them; which are of the sheep nature and which are of the goat nature. The former will be blessed. The latter will be destroyed.
At the end of the thousand years of the Judgment Day, the sheep found at the right hand of favor will receive the blessing: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"--an earthly kingdom, different decidedly from the heavenly kingdom, which will have previously been given to the church in association with her Lord. Then the unworthy will also be dealt with.
As we read, He who sat upon the throne said to the goat class, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels"-- his fellows, all who are of his character likeness, and who are in sympathy with him. These will include all of Adam's restored race who, after enjoying the knowledge and favor of God, shall maintain any sympathy for sin and discord.
The everlasting punishment, be it remembered, will be administered; but this does not signify everlasting torments, because the punishment for sin is not torment, but death--everlasting death will therefore be the punishment of the goat class with Satan the great adversary. From this death there will be no redemption, no resurrection, no recovery of any kind. As St. Peter declares, "They shall be like brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed." The everlasting fire is as symbolical, as parabolic, as the sheep and the goats. Fire is a symbol of destruction, and everlasting fire a symbol of everlasting destruction. An everlasting fire is one not quenched, one which burns until it shall have accomplished its purpose of complete destruction.
More and Less Tolerable.
Our Lord had considerable to say about this great Day of Judgment, by and through which, in the Father's Plan, he was to extend the blessings of his sacrifice to the entire race. Jesus upbraided the people of Bethsaida and Chorazin, declaring that Sodom and Gomorrah would have represented with contrition in sackcloth and [OV43] ashes, if they had enjoyed their opportunities. He assured them that, in the Day of Judgment, the day of trial, the day of testing, the Millennial Judgment Day, matters would be more favorable for the Sodomites than for the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida.-- Matthew 11:21-24.
This may give a new thought to some-- that the Divine arrangement for dealing with the Sodomites during the Millennium will be quite tolerable--less severe, less of an ordeal than for some of the Jews who lived in our Lord's day. Nor are we to think of those Jews as being specially wicked and reprehensible, because they crucified the Lord of Glory. St. Peter declares, "I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." (Acts 3:17.) Of those same Jews we read that the Lord will "pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son."--Zech. 12:10.
But glance at the case of the Sodomites. Our Lord shows that he had reference to those persons who lived in the days of Lot. He says, "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:29.) Those Sodomites had no share in any day of judgment, except in the sense that they were children of Adam, and by heredity they were condemned in him and shared in his death sentence. They sinned, doubtless, against a measure of light, yet not against full light, because the Gospel lamp was not lighted and did not shine upon any until Jesus' day. Thus it is written that Christ "brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel;" and, again, that this great salvation "began to be preached by our Lord." (2 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 2:3.) The death of the Sodomites, therefore, was merely the Adamic death, hastened; not the Second Death. They would have died anyway. They were taken in a manner which furnished an example for those who afterwards should live in extreme ungodliness, as they did; whether with or without the Gospel light.
If we turn to Ezekiel 16:46-63, we see how the Lord reproved Israel for unfaithfulness, under great privileges and blessings. He reminds them of how, in the days of their prosperity and pride, they disdained their sister nations, the Sodomites and Samaritans. After telling them that they were worse than either of these, he further informs them that when he fulfills his promise to them to regather Israel, to restore to Israel his favor and the light of his countenance and to make with them the New Covenant, he then will also bless the Samaritans and the Sodomites. We read, "When I shall bring in their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them....When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to their former estate. ...Nevertheless, I will remember my Covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting Covenant."--See Jer. 31:31; Rom. 11:27-32.
We see, then, that a Divine Program, which has provided that the world shall have a Judgment Day or Epoch, as the result of Christ's redemptive work, has set apart for it the Millennial Age, with amplest provisions that each member of Adam's race may have a full, fair and impartial trial for eternal life or eternal death. The Divine Program is surely a good one--ten thousand times better than the miserably confused and confusing ideas of the Judgment Day which came down to us from "the dark ages," filling us with fear and dread as respects God and his gracious arrangements for the blessing of all the families of the earth through The Christ, Head and Body.
[OV44]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
IX--The Millennial Kingdom
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
AS IS WELL-KNOWN, the basis of the word Millennium is Mille, which signifies a thousand. For long centuries, God's people have looked forward to times of refreshment, when the curse imposed upon the world because of Adam's sin would be lifted by reason of the Redeemer's sacrifice. It has been the theory that he who redeemed mankind is to come a second time, not as a sin-offering, as at the first, but as the great Deliverer, to release mankind from sin and death conditions, and to restore the willing and obedient to close harmony with God, and, indeed, to all that was lost in Adam. Those "restitution times" or years, as St. Peter says, have been declared by "all the holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:19-21.) In other words, as the heathen have had their theory of a coming Golden Age, the Israelites had the direct assurance of God that such a period of general world-wide blessing would surely come. This hope was associated with Israel's anticipation of worldly greatness under the Head Shepherd, the expected Messiah. Foundation for the hope lay in the Divine promise to Abraham, "In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Israel hoped and prayed for the fulfillment of this promise, which meant special honor and exaltation to them, as well as refreshment to others. They understood that Messiah would come first, and that it would be under his direction and ministration of affairs that his Kingdom would be established--in their nation for the blessing of all nations.
These ancient hopes of Israel will shortly have realization very nearly as anticipated. The difference is that Messiah, instead of being one person, is to be composed of the chosen "little flock" of one hundred and forty-four thousand selected in part from Israel in the end of their age, and, since then, the remainder from all nations. As soon as this great Mediator shall be completed his work will begin --the New Covenant will be sealed between God and Israel, and Messiah, Head and Body, will be its Mediator. (Jer. 31:31; Rom. 11:1,27,31.) The blessing will extend to all nations, in that all nations will be welcome to become "Israelites indeed" and sharers in the blessings of that New (Law) Covenant. As they thus come into line with the Divine provisions, they will, as foretold, become children of Abraham. As it is written, "Abraham, I have constituted thee a Father of many nations." But the chief hope of salvation for the Millennium is usually based upon the statements in Revelation 20th, which assure us that in the end of this Gospel Age the Divine power will restrain Satan, hindering the further deception of humanity during that period. Meantime, Christ will take unto himself his great power and reign-- control, order, rule, bless. This same period is elsewhere called "the day of Christ" --the epoch during which The Christ, Head and Body, shall hold the sway of earth. (Rev. 20:4-6.) The same period is referred to by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:22,23, when telling us that, "as all in Adam die, so all in Christ will be made alive," but, he assures us, "every man in his own order," for he, Messiah, "must reign until he shall have put all enemies under his feet"--until he shall have subdued everything that is not in harmony with the divine arrangement.
The suggestion of Revelation that not only Satan shall be bound for a thousand [OV45] years, but that the Church shall reign with Christ, etc., is in full harmony with what we know respecting the Lord's dealing with our race in the past. If we count the six thousand years as six days of evil--six days of the reign of sin and death--and then speak of the thousand-year "day of Christ" in which righteousness shall reign unto life eternal, we thus have in mind the week of seven-thousand year days. And a week, a cycle of sevens, stands for completeness.
It might be urged that as Sin and Death reigned for six thousand years the reign of righteousness and light for a period of one thousand years would be insufficient for the uplift of humanity. But we hold to the contrary that it is abundantly sufficient and really what might have been expected. Some of us with the light of Present Truth, being by the grace of God transformed by the renewing of our minds, can well realize a great work accomplished in our own hearts in ten, twenty or thirty years; and we wonder what marvelous transformations might be effected in mankind during a hundred years or a thousand. We remember that the work of grace in our hearts has had our willing co-operation and that we thus have much advantage over such of the world as might prove unwilling and rebellious. But we remember also that we now are in conflict with oppositions from the world and from the Adversary, and that the Divine program is that neither of these oppositions shall hinder the progress of mankind up the highway of holiness toward the mark of human perfection during the Millennium.
To rightly understand the condition which will prevail during the Millennium we must keep distinctly in memory the fact that there will be two Kingdoms, a heavenly, invisible one, and an earthly, visible one. Our Lord and his Church, his Bride, will be like unto the angels, spirit beings, and their rule or dominion will be only through the earthly Kingdom class, their earthly representatives. As the "kingdom of darkness" now operates through the servants of sin along lines of ignorance, superstition, sin and death, the Kingdom of Light will operate through earthly agencies, in harmony with its principles of righteousness, truth, knowledge, etc. Thus the assurance of the Scriptures is that during Messiah's Kingdom nothing shall be permitted to hurt or do injury, but on the contrary, it shall cause the light of the knowledge of the glory of God to fill the earth.--Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14.
The earthly agents of Satan and the other fallen angels (the present powers of spiritual control) are evil men and evil women and the whole array of sin and error, superstition and anarchy. Many of these agents of sin are themselves deceived and know not whom they serve. Nevertheless, as the Scriptures declare, "His servants ye are unto whom ye render service." The servants of the Kingdom of God, on the contrary, will be glad, willing, intelligent servants of God and righteousness, as we shall now show.
The Scriptural presentation is that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, together with others who developed similar faith and character, in the period preceding our Lord's First Advent, will constitute the earthly phase of the Kingdom of Heaven. St. Paul calls our attention to this in Hebrews 11, and declares that "all these died in faith, not having received the things promised to them"-- earthly inheritance, dominion--and "that they without us should not be made perfect." In other words, the church of this Gospel Age must first be exalted with her Lord to the heavenly dominion before the Ancient Worthies will be called forth from the sleep of death to full human perfection, to constitute the earthly representatives of the Heavenly Kingdom and its laws and regulations. Moreover, each of these Ancient Worthies will in himself be a pattern or sample of perfect manhood --of all that the race as a whole may attain to by obedience to the laws of the Kingdom and its uplifting influences. The bringing forth of the Ancient Worthies from the tomb to instantaneous perfection will be, as the Apostle explains, because of their having stood certain trials and testings of faith, which brought to them the Divine approval as worthy to be used as the earthly seed of Abraham, in the great work of Messiah--the blessing and uplifting of all the families of the earth.
Those Ancient Worthies were once [OV46] styled the "fathers." But as the Scriptures point out through the further development of the Divine Plan their relationship to Christ and the Church will alter. As we read, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." (Psa. 45:16.) In other words, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, et al., were the forefathers of Messiah according to the flesh; but Messiah's sacrifices of the flesh and his attainment by resurrection to the Divine nature--gave him a valuable asset of human rights, which he is at liberty to dispense to humanity. The giving to men of those human rights, earthly restitutions, includes the giving of life rights: thus the Mediator became "the age-lasting Father" of the whole world of mankind--or so many of them as ever shall attain to eternal life.--Isaiah 9:6.
The Ancient Worthies will receive this earthly life or restitution to human nature in common with the world; hence they, as well as all the remainder of the human family, will occupy to Messiah the relationship of children, offspring--those who receive life from Messiah at his expense-- and the result of his sacrifice of himself. The superiority of the Ancient Worthies in station and honor and ruling power above the remainder of mankind will be based upon the fact that they will be perfect men, while the remainder of the world will be imperfect. As we have already seen, their instantaneous resurrection to perfection will be the result or reward of their fidelity to the Lord under severe trials during their time of contact with sin. As we have already seen, the world of mankind will experience gradual resurrection from death conditions to life conditions. First will come the awakening, "Every man in his own order," and then during the thousand years a gradual raising up (resurrection) out of degradation and sin and imperfection, to righteousness and perfection in proportion as each individual shall heartily avail himself of the knowledge and opportunity which he will then possess. All who refuse to progress will die the Second Death.
The Day of His Preparation.
As already seen, the world has been for more than a century in what is termed "The day of his preparation"--for the Millennium, the time in which the Lord's blessings will fill the earth. The wonderful inventions of our day are already making the world rich. But what will a thousand years of progress signify in the way of accumulated wealth? If, as inventors assure us, we are merely on the edge, as it were, of still more wonderful inventions and devices for human comfort, what may we reasonably expect the world will have before the close of the thousand years of Christ's Millennial reign? If present inventions are but preparations for that glorious day, and the work of imperfect men, what may we not expect in the day itself at the hands of a growingly intelligent race and under the special supervision of the Ancient Worthies perfected in human nature, and under the further supervision of the great Messiah, Prophet, Priest, King, Judge and Mediator for the race?
If any are disposed to fear that the great wealth of the world at that time would inure to the comfort and blessing of only a wealthy few and not to the general prosperity of the race, let such reflect upon the fact that the great Messiah, Emmanuel, has given us assurances, not only in his own character and teaching, but also directly through the prophets, that he will lay righteousness to the line and justice to the plummet. Let such remember, also, the distinct promise that he will remember the poor and needy. Note the prophecy: "He shall judge the poor of the people; he shall save the needy children, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. In his day shall the righteous flourish, and an abundance of peace." (Psalm 72.)
Let us remember, also, the figurative promise of the Scriptures respecting the Millennial Day, that "every hill shall be brought low and every valley exalted." Let such remember also the Scriptural assurance that "the meek shall inherit the earth;" that "the righteous shall be exalted and that evil-doers shall be cut off." Surely there is abundant evidence that during the Millennium the blessing of life will be justly, unerringly distributed. The Divine promise is that the great King will lay justice to the line and righteousness to the plummet and sweep away all [OV47] the refuges of lies. The high ones will all be brought low and the lowly ones will be exalted. This will mean more than a fulfillment of socialist dreams. Their well-meant scheme is a thoroughly impracticable one; first, because if they could effect such a change as they desire, it would be only a question of time when the selfishness of the human heart would re-distribute the wealth of the world much after the manner of the present; secondly, their view is impracticable because the wealthy and favored class, believing that they are justly possessed of their wealth, would see the streets run with blood rather than permit distribution of their wealth and special privileges. We are not discounting the benevolence and goodness of the wealthy, but neither are we discounting the innate selfishness of all classes.
The Divine program has taken into consideration every feature of the situation in its providence, and the results will be glorious. The wreck of the present social system in anarchy, shortly, will teach humanity the necessary lesson that it cannot trust itself under present conditions. The help necessary must come from the Lord. The new Kingdom will be a strong one and its judgments, its decisions, its rewards, its punishments, will be world-wide. The righteous will be blessed with the true comforts of life-- health, strength and earthly blessing. The unrighteous will be made to feel the unprofitableness of their course--that the way of transgressors is hard. Gradually, this system of rewards and punishments-- or, as the Scriptures put it, these "judgments of the Lord"--will teach the right lesson of the sinfulness and undesirableness of sin in its every form and of the blessedness of righteousness and equity, "when the judgments of the Lord are abroad in the earth and the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."-- Isa. 26:9.
The condemnation of Divine Justice will be lifted immediately at the beginning of the millennium, when the great Mediator shall apply the merit of his sacrifice on behalf of the world (as he applied it to the household of faith at Pentecost.) Nevertheless the "curse," the imperfections, the blemishes, of humanity and the earthly home will be gradually recovered. The promise of the Lord that the whole earth shall be brought to a Paradise condition will be gradually effected during the thousand years, just as human restitution to Adamic perfection will be gradually attained. The blessings which will then prevail, the comforts, the leisure, will be for all, because all will be rich and under the supervision of the Millennial Kingdom. This leisure will not be permitted to be used for sinful or depraved pleasures, but merely in accord with the highest interests of all. Love, joy and peace will be the characteristics of that time.
By the close of the Millennium God's will shall be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven, and every human creature shall have attained to full perfection--the rebellious being cut off in the "Second Death." The loss incurred through Adam's transgression will have been fully retrieved. The race, so far from being injured by the experiences of sin, will really have been blessed; because of their greater appreciation of Truth and righteousness and their experiences under the reign of sin and lessons that will be learned during the Millennial period of reclamation from the influences of the curse. All refusing these gracious provisions, after trial, the Scriptures assure us, will be utterly, hopelessly destroyed in the Second Death.-- Acts 3:23.
When the Mediatorial Kingdom of Christ shall have accomplished its design of blessing all the families of the earth, by uplifting of the willing and obedient out of sin and death conditions, that special and provisional Kingdom will terminate.
As the Apostle says, Christ shall give up the Kingdom to God and he will be all in all. Meantime by his Millennial Kingdom he shall have put down sin and all opposed to the Divine Government and everything in opposition to the highest interests and welfare of the race. Love and mercy having done everything possible, their utmost, for the race during the Millennium, the regenerated race will be handed over at its close to strictest Justice. Thenceforth, no allowance will be made for imperfections, because no imperfections will exist. Ignorance and superstition having been done away with, destroyed, [OV48] Divine Law, absolute Justice, will be enforced.--1 Cor. 15:24,28.
The Scriptures, properly enough, then, show us that immediately following this turning over of the Kingdom by Messiah to the Father, the reign of Mercy, giving place to the reign of Justice, will be followed by a period of trial to the race. For a brief period, Satan will be loosed, and an opportunity for sin will be permitted, with a view to testing the loyalty of those who had been rescued from the reign of Sin and Death. A conspiracy of self-will against agents of Divine authority will be permitted--to test, to prove, all dwelling upon the face of the whole earth, whose members will then be as the sands of the seashore--innumerable. How many of these will succumb to the temptation and thereby prove their hearts disloyal, is not stated.
But all who do thus yield to the temptation will be accounted worthy of the Second Death and will be utterly destroyed. By such strenuous tests the Lord will prove, test, the hearts of men and blot out of existence all who with full knowledge and opportunity to the contrary still entertain any disloyalty to the principles of truth and righteousness. It is because of these strenuous tests which will be applied to every creature that the Lord is able to guarantee to us that "there shall be no more sighing, no more crying and no more dying," because there shall be no more sin.
There may be some unwilling to believe in the Millennial Kingdom, because unable to grasp by faith so remarkable a Divine supervision of human affairs for the uplifting of our race from sin and death conditions. These are not to be specially blamed, for, as the Apostle says, "All men have not faith." (2 Thess. 3:2.) All men, however, who have faith to believe in the Divine promises can realize the justice as well as the love and mercy connected with the Divine scheme of redemption. It began with our Lord's giving himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. It has continued during this Gospel Age in the selecting of the "little flock," the "jewels" to be Messiah's associates in the work of the Millennial Kingdom. It will operate during the Millennial Age most gloriously, and the results will be all that can be desired. Then shall come the time when every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth shall be heard praising and honoring the great Prophet, Priest and King, whose righteous dealings will finally have been made manifest, and whose creatures will have been brought to the highest degree of blessing--the "little flock" on the heavenly plane, mankind on the earthly plane, and the incorrigible to Second Death-- destruction.
TAKE HEART
LET me take heart! the present scene shall soon
be o'er;
The clustering clouds shall hide the sun at noon no
more.
The tears now dropping from mine eyes shall be forgot;
And joys, undimmed by sin and misery, my lot.
The storm now sweeping through the troubled sky
be past;
The longed-for morning without clouds arise at last.
The hindmost shadow soon shall utterly depart;
Then let me watch and wait, and hopefully take
heart.
[OV49]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
X--The Kingdoms of this World Supervised
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE CIVILIZED portion of the world, about one-fourth, according to population, is styled Christendom, which signifies Christ's Kingdom. The coined gold and silver of Christendom bears similar witness to God as the recognized ruler of earth. Upon our own coins we read "In God we trust." Upon the British coins we read that the King or Queen, whose image it bears, reigns over the kingdom or empire by the grace of God; and so with the German, the Russian, the Austrian and other coins. These legends have so long prevailed that they attract little notice and rarely are questioned.
However, as soon as we begin to exercise the gray matter of our brains on the subject, we are in trouble. We ask, Are the great armies of Christendom maintained as a protection against the heathen world? Are the great navies for the repulsion of heathen foes? Are the mighty Dreadnaughts costing approximately $10,000,000 each for construction and millions more for maintenance, necessary for the protection of these Kingdoms of God against the heathen kingdoms not yet subjugated to his law? The answer comes: No! all these armaments and military preparations by land and by sea and through the air and under the sea are costly methods used by Christian nations to protect themselves from each other! We ask: How long has it been thus? Is this a new field of ungrounded fear that has seized upon the world? The answer is: No, it has ever been thus: for fifteen centuries the nations of Europe have been calling themselves "Christendom," yet their lands have been soaked with Christian blood, in fearful carnage, Christian nation fighting against Christian nation by every devilish means and missile conceivable, inventible, is the customary thing. What we now have is superior to what we had in the past, merely because the inventive genius peculiar to our day has had its influence along martial lines, as along the avenues of peace.
The situation is inexplicable, except from one standpoint--the Bible standpoint --the Divine Program, which solves this and every other mystery and query. From this standpoint, the explanation is, that Christendom is laboring under a great delusion. It is not Christ's Kingdom. Instead, according to the Scriptures, the civilized as well as the uncivilized portion of mankind are under the secret domination of "The Prince of this world"--Satan. The great Adversary has deceived the world, putting light for darkness and darkness for light. Whereas, through the prophets and apostles, and by our Lord's own words, the hope of the world centers in the establishment of the Divine rule or reign of Righteousness, yet the time for the fulfillment of those gracious promises and ardent hopes is still future. It is still appropriate for God's people to pray, after the example given us by our Redeemer in the words, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." The hope of the early Church, voiced in this prayer, should still be the hope of God's people. They should all know that the reign of Sin and Death, which has prevailed on earth for these many centuries, will continue to prevail until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power and great glory. When he shall "take unto himself his great power and reign," he will put down sin and error in their multitudinous forms and establish righteousness [OV50] and Truth, peace, love and joy. And this glorious event, the Second Coming of Christ in Kingdom glory, must await the Divine "due time," when the elect Church shall have been completed, tested, proven, found faithful, glorified.
This is the thought before the Apostle's mind when he graphically declares, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now...waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God." The great Son of God, Captain of our Salvation, and all of his brethren under him, soldiers of the cross, are soon to be glorified together on the spirit plane by the First Resurrection, as a Royal Priesthood --a Priest with regal power.
A Masterpiece of Deception.
Fidelity to our subject demands that we inquire how, when and where this deception was foist upon God's people and the entire civilized world. Who fabricated this story, that the nations of the civilized world are the kingdoms of Christ? The answer is, that this great deception is from Satan, our great Deceiver, of whom the Apostle said, "The God of this world hath blinded the minds of all them that believe not." It is safe, also, to assume that to some extent this great Adversary has partially blinded the minds of believers. This is the sentiment in the prophecy, "Darkness covers the earth; gross darkness the heathen." Again the Apostle says, I pray God for you (The Church) that your eyes being opened, ye may be able to comprehend with all saints the length and breadth and height and depth, and to know the love of God, which passeth all understanding (Eph. 3:18.) The intimation here, again, is that the opening of the eyes of understanding of Christians is gradual and proportionate to their saintliness and holiness of heart. That the deceptions of Satan are world-wide and include all classes is set forth in the assurance given us that when he shall be bound by Christ for the thousand years of his Millennial reign, it will be that "he shall deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are finished."
In seeking for the truthful answer to the query, we must not feel aggrieved if, perchance, we find that our own ancestors were amongst those whom Satan deceived and who ignorantly became his servants and tools in the establishment of the thought that the civilized kingdoms are the Kingdoms of Christ--"Christendom."
The Deception Gradual and Logical.
Those who claim that the present condition of things was concocted by priests and knaves who premeditated the deception with which we have since been struggling are mistaken. Those who elaborated these views were undoubtedly as honest and sincere as ourselves. They were the victims of circumstances, and, more particularly, the victims of the great Deceiver's plot whereby he continually lay in wait to deceive the Lord's people, as St. Paul foretold. (Eph. 4:14; 2 Cor. 2:11.)
Truly the Apostle has declared that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood," but with wicked spirits in influential positions. --Eph. 6:12.
The method by which the Adversary misled our forefathers was a cunningly deceptive one. A century after the Apostles fell asleep in death, persecution was still raging, and the looked-for Second Coming of Christ to glorify his Church, and to establish her as his Bride and joint-heir in his Kingdom, to bless the world, had not yet come. The strain of tribulation was telling upon the hopes of the Church. There were queries as to whether or not a mistake had been made in the understanding of the promises respecting our Lord's Second Coming, the end of this age and the inauguration of the New Kingdom Age. Now was the time for the Adversary to gradually and persistently work in the erroneous thought and becloud and obscure the Truth and cut off the Church from the real Scriptural hope and give to her another hope, through which the great Deceiver could more particularly lead her astray on other doctrines and practices.
The subtle suggestion was that it was not the Divine intention that Christ should come a second time in the flesh. This conclusion was quite correct; but to it was added the further suggestion that Christ intended that his faithful followers under his direction should first convert the whole world--should first accomplish all [OV51] the work of the Millennial Kingdom. The further suggestion was, that the Lord himself would not participate in this Millennial reign, except through a substitute or vicar, who would represent him in all the work of the Kingdom and fulfill all the prophetic promises of blessing the earth, uplifting mankind, etc.
At the same time, the dominion of earth was so manipulated by the Prince of this world (God not interfering) that the persecutions of the Church by the civil Government of Rome ceased; and the Roman Government gradually decayed. At the same time, formalism, going hand in hand with worldly prosperity, lifted up the Church nominal in the eyes of the world and in its own eyes. Gradually the Church seemed to be nearing the point where she could reign over the kings of the earth. The Church's power increased as the civil power weakened, until finally the Church nominal was the mightiest organization in the world. Then possessed of the reins of spiritual control, she asserted her authority, and told the civil kings of the earth that her superior control was as the representative of God and his Kingdom, which it was foretold would rule the world. She called upon kings to recognize her authority and to conduct their kingdoms in accordance with her decrees. She threatened their princes and nobles and kings that, if they did otherwise than obey her commands, she would exercise her suzerain authority. She told the civil kings of earth that if her commands were not obeyed she would inform their peoples that they were no longer bound to support them, and would indicate others to be their rulers instead-- others who would hearken to the voice of the Church, to the voice of Christ speaking through the Church.
Meantime, slowly, gradually, artfully, under the great Deceiver's seductions and temptations, the simplicity of the apostolic order was lost, or, rather, it was merged into a larger system, believed to be necessary, and in Divine order, for the new conditions prevailing. The Elders of the various congregations of the Lord's people, the pastors and teachers, were no longer styled overseers or bishops, but this term was applied from a loftier standpoint of one commissioned to have an apostolic oversight of many congregations. Gradually, too, a still higher order was recognized, called archbishops or higher bishops, and still another higher order styled cardinals. And to perfect the system, a Head was demanded by the Church --an elected Head, called a pope, a papa, a father. Whoever occupied the office of pope was recognized as the personal representative of Christ, so that similar honor was demanded for the popes as was recognized as due to Christ; and the pope's ex cathedra utterances were recognized as the infallible utterances of Christ. He was styled "the vicar of Christ," or Christ's substitute on the throne of earth. In the triple crown worn by the popes, emblazoned with jewels, was his title, Vicarius Filii Dei, Substitute Son of God.
When we remember that all this came about gradually, during a period of long centuries, we cannot wonder that our forefathers in all of these arrangements verily thought that they were doing God service and fulfilling his will, as foretold in the prophecies. We cannot, therefore, chide or censure them specially for accepting and handing down to us this wrong theory, that then and there God's Kingdom was set up in the world. Rather we must sympathize with them and with ourselves and be the more on guard against the deceptive influences of our Great Adversary, Satan. So that, while getting rid of some of those errors, we may not be misled by our foes into other pitfalls and snares. Our only safety is, as the Scriptures point out, in a closer walk in the footsteps of our Redeemer, in humility, in love, in devotion to God and to each other, waiting for the true Kingdom of God's dear Son, the promised Kingdom, which shall be established at his Second Coming. That Kingdom shall bless all the families of the earth; that Kingdom shall put down all sin and disorder and bring in everlasting righteousness, and, to the willing and obedient, everlasting life.
Both Protestants and Catholics Deceived.
We are not to think of this matter as being a deception upon the Catholics merely. Indeed, in former days we, represented by our forefathers, were practically all Catholics. When the so-called [OV52] "Reformation" took place in the fifteenth century, those who then protested, represented by Luther, Zwingli, Melangthon, Calvin and others, accepted the same general teaching, namely, that God's Kingdom was established in the earth and was to conquer the world. These reformers merely disputed that the pope and his associates were the Head of the Church and representatives of Christ. Certainly Luther did, even if it were but jocularly, say of himself, "Here goes the German pope." Henry VIII, as the Head of the Church of England, surely set himself forth as the Head of that religious system or Church. Surely in similar manner, the Czar of Russia is the Pontifex Maximus of the Russian or Greek Church.
The "Reformation," therefore, was not a recognition of the deception which Satan had forced upon our forefathers, but, instead, it meant a splitting of the one so-called Kingdom of God, Papacy, into numerous Kingdoms of God, or sects, which between them recognize the various royal families of Europe. The root evil still persists to this day. It is high time that, in the light of our day, we should see clearly that all the so-called kingdoms of Christendom are merely "kingdoms of this world," which, deceptively and under delusion, are claiming to be the kingdoms of God's dear Son. Only those who recognize these facts are properly prepared to appreciate and to rejoice in the prospect of the soon-coming of the Kingdom of Christ and its reign of Righteousness under the whole heavens, in fulfillment of the Word of the Lord "by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." --Acts 3:19-21.
Present Conditions Foretold.
Looking back we find in Daniel's prophecy delineations which prophetically foretell in brief outline the history of the world empires, showing us what has been; what is, and what is to come; portraying the fact that all the "kingdoms of earth are kingdoms of this world," and that the great Kingdom of God's dear Son will be established upon the ruins of present institutions. The ruin of present empires is clearly indicated as due in the near future, and as coming to pass as the result of increased knowledge and increased ambition, operating in conjunction with the selfishness of fallen human nature. Of that "day of wrath," its character and its place in the Divine Program we shall have more to say anon.
God's Kingdom in Israel.
True, there was a time when God had a Kingdom or dominion in the world, as we read David, King of Israel, "sat upon the throne of the Kingdom of the Lord." And "Solomon sat upon the throne of the Kingdom of the Lord, in the room of his father David." But that Kingdom is not the one for which we wait and for which we pray, "Thy Kingdom come." That was merely a figure, a picture in some respects of the coming Kingdom. David, the beloved Prophet, represented typically The Christ; and Solomon, the wise, the rich, the great, typified Messiah and his Kingdom in other respects. When the time came to abolish the typical Kingdom of Israel, the Lord indicated that his promise that Messiah should sit upon the throne of Israel would nevertheless be fulfilled, though the delay would be considerable. To the last regular king successor to David's throne the words were addressed, "O thou profane and wicked Prince whose time has come that iniquity should have an end! Remove the diadem! Take off the crown! This shall not be the same! I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, until he comes, whose right it is, and I will give it unto him."
That Davidic crown has been overturned ever since. No rightful heir of David has ever worn the crown. The nation was under other rules and subject to other empires until its final destruction in A.D. 70. For instance, the Herods of our Lord's day were not Israelites, but of the family of Esau, and even then they had only a provisional Government, the real control being vested in the Roman Emperor. The lesson then is, that when Messiah's Kingdom shall be established, it, under the terms of Israel's New (Law) Covenant, shall be established with Israel and not with other nations. All nations will then approach the Lord by coming under the terms of his grace, and mercy embodied in that New (Law) Covenant, [OV53] which will then operate towards Israel. All peoples, when exercising faith and obedience to the regulations of the Millennial Kingdom, in so doing will become "Israelites indeed," circumcised in heart and be counted children of Abraham, as it is written, I have constituted thee a father of many nations.
The facts, then, are that Zedekiah's crown, removed six hundred and six years before Christ, has not yet been accepted by Messiah. His dominion has not yet been established in the earth! The long intervening period of twenty-five hundred and fifteen years marks a period in which God has had no Kingdom in the earth, no special dominion of an outward kind, such as mankind could recognize, and such as they have been called upon to honor and obey. Notice further, that God had stated to the Jews that if they would be disobedient to his Divine arrangements, he would punish them "seven times" for their sins. This is repeated over and over again. The "seven times" may properly be understood to be seven years (symbolical) three hundred and sixty years long. The seven times thus reckoned would total twenty-five hundred and twenty years as Israel's period of Divine disfavor without a king. We have seen that twenty-five hundred and fifteen years of this period have already elapsed, and thus five years remain before they can have earthly dominion. As the time draws near, what do we see--the Jews and the whole civilized world standing up and looking to Palestine and requesting for reinstatement as a nation. (This same presentation has been set forth orally and in print for more than thirty years: long enough before the Zionist movement.) Their hopes will be more than realized, but not entirely in the manner anticipated. The Kingdom that is coming to them at the close of their period of waiting will be a blessed Kingdom-- that of Emmanuel the seed of Abraham, Messiah.
2520 Gentile Times 2520.
But now behold! When the crown was taken from Israel in Zedekiah's day 2515 years ago, God declared through Daniel the Prophet that the dominion of the earth under certain limitations would be left in the hands of the Gentiles, and that they would rule the world until those times or years would be fulfilled. Our Lord Jesus called attention to this prophecy and foretold that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24.) As Jerusalem is still thus trodden down of the Gentiles, it is evident that the "Gentile times" are not yet filled full. In God's revelation on the subject to Daniel and to Nebuchadnezzar, he indicated that the Dominion of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar, the great image of Gentile power, and that this image would control was shown in brief. Nebuchadnezzar's Government was the Head. Following it came the universal empire of the Medes and Persians, Cyrus being one of these. Next in turn came the Empire of Greece, Alexander the Great being its principal representative. Next in turn came the legs of iron, representing the strength of the Roman Empire; next in turn came the feet and toes of the image, of iron and clay mixed, representing the rule of Christendom, a commingling of the civil power as represented by the iron, and the ecclesiastical authority, as represented in the clay.
The whole period of the domination of this great image was symbolically pictured in the seven years of Nebuchadnezzar's madness, at the conclusion of which he praised the God of Heaven and acknowledged him as the Emperor and Ruler of earth. The madness of the man is a fitting picture of the madness of the universal Gentile Governments and the carnage which they wrought in the earth. The seven years or seven times, namely, twenty-five hundred and twenty years, correspond exactly to Israel's "seven times." Thus we see that "the times of the Gentiles" will be fulfilled and they will lose their empire, at the same time that Israel's seven times of tribulation and down-treading will terminate, and they shall come into favor and association with Messiah and his Kingdom.--Daniel 2 and 4.
In conclusion, we may all thank God that the Divine Program contains a blessing for humanity under a heavenly rule and Government, for their uplifting out of sin and death conditions, that is far [OV54] more hopeful, far more blessed, than anything that we have at present or that could possibly come to us through the Governments which ignorantly style themselves the Kingdoms of God, the Kingdoms of Christ--"Christendom." We are not in this finding fault with these earthly Governments. On the contrary, we believe that poor humanity in its fallen condition is doing as well as it can do. It is struggling against the world, the flesh and the Adversary and against the ignorance, superstition, etc., in which they were immersed and against their own weaknesses and imperfections of mind and morals and selfishness. God would have humanity learn the lesson that our very best efforts to rectify the great disaster of sin and death, which came upon us through Father Adam's disobedience, must prove futile. Our help cometh from God. Thank God for the provision for our assistance --that it has already been made by the death of Jesus, who died the Just for the unjust, that he might bring back to the Father in due time, through this Kingdom of Righteousness, all who will. We rejoice, moreover, that the Church now being called out to joint-heirship with their Redeemer in that Kingdom is to be so highly honored and used in connection with the great Divine Programme, and we exhort all those who have heard the "call" to accept it, and all those who have accepted it to strive to "make their calling and election sure."
IS IT FOR ME?
IS it for me, dear Savior,
Thy glory and Thy rest?
For me, so poor and humble,
Oh! shall I thus be blest?
Is it for me to see Thee
In all Thy glorious grace,
And gaze in endless rapture
On Thy beloved face?
Is it for me to listen
To Thy beloved voice,
And hear its sweetest music
Bid even me rejoice?
A thrill of solemn gladness
Hath hushed my very heart
To think that I may really
Behold Thee as Thou art;
Behold Thee in Thy beauty;
Behold Thee face to face;
Behold Thee in Thy glory
And rest in Thine embrace.
[OV55]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
XI. Messiah's Second Coming
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE SECOND Coming of Messiah is extremely unpopular for three reasons:
1. It is supposed to mark the end of all hope of salvation.
2. It appears needless, because of the general opinion that all mankind go to Christ at death--to be adjudged for eternal life or eternal torment.
3. It seems inconsistent to the degree of absurdity that Christ should ever sit upon an earthly throne and exercise thus an earthly dominion.
Without fear of successful contradiction we assert that all three of these objections are based upon fallacious views and misunderstandings of the Divine Program. On the contrary, we hold, not only that the Second Coming of Messiah is well attested by the Scriptures, but that it is every way logical, reasonable and consistent with the Divine Program, as outlined. Let us consider the objections in the order given:
1. We have already shown that instead of Messiah's Advent being the end of the world, it is really the beginning of the glorious epoch of Millennial blessings, which shall bring opportunities of uplift, mental, moral and physical, which will, if responded to, result in eternal life in Paradise. The entire theological fabric became so twisted during "the dark ages" that practically its entire teaching was one of long Purgatorial torture, and later we Protestants made a bad matter worse, by throwing away Purgatory, and assigning all except the saintly to eternal torture. St. Paul worthily named these errors "Doctrines of devils."--1 Timothy 4:1.
Not only was the Millennial hope taken away and mankind told that at the moment of death they would be launched into torments, except the few but additionally the Scripture references to a Second Coming of the Lord and a resurrection of the dead were made a still further terror to mankind. Poor humanity was told that, after suffering untold agonies in some kind of a bodyless condition, the Second Coming of Christ would mean a resurrection of their bodies and the means whereby their tortures would be increased, the bodies being left with all their present nerves and sensitiveness, but made fireproof. No wonder, from this standpoint, the Second Coming of Messiah would be feared, would be dreaded! No wonder poor humanity would shrink from it, and wish that it would never be!
2. When rightly studied, the Bible distinctly contradicts popular theories that mankind at death become more alive than when they were alive. As already shown, the Bible teaching is that death is death; that "the dead know not anything;" that "their sons come to honor and they know it not; and to dishonor and they perceive it not of them;" that "there is neither wisdom nor knowledge nor device in sheol (the grave--hell) whither all go;" that the Scriptural hope is "the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." Hence, as our Lord said, "The hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth"--the well-doers to eternal life and those who have done evil to a resurrection by judgments, by disciplines, by which all the willing and obedient may ultimately be lifted up to life by the close of the Millennial Age. How strange that we all of us misunderstood these Scriptures and prophecies and accepted theories which are inconsistent with our reasonable concepts and thoroughly out of harmony with God!
3. We agree that it is thoroughly inconsistent and thoroughly absurd to suppose that our Lord should return to earth [OV56] for the purpose of assuming an earthly throne with an earthly court and courtiers and earthly dominion! This would be coming from a higher dominion to a lower one, and is consequently inconceivable to reason. But this is not the kingdom which the Bible informs us Messiah shall establish in the earth. On the contrary, the clear teaching of the Scripture is that our Lord will never more be known as a man. He took upon him the form of a servant, and the nature of a man that he, "by the grace of God, might taste death for every man." This was because a perfect man had sinned, and a perfect man's life must be substituted for his to meet the demands of Divine Justice.
Since our Lord arose from the dead, he is no longer a man, but a spirit being; as the Scriptures declare, "He was put to death flesh, but was quickened (made alive) spirit." "Now the Lord is that spirit"--"highly exalted, far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named--glorified and "made partaker of the divine nature." In harmony with this, the Scriptures show that our Lord's appearances after his resurrection were different entirely from his presence with his disciples before his death. Before his death he was the man Christ Jesus, and after his resurrection he was a spirit being, and manifested himself in various fleshly bodies--as a gardener; as a stranger; in a body similar to the one in which he was crucified, etc. These manifestations convinced the apostles: (a) that he was no longer dead, but alive; (b) that he was no longer a man, but "changed," invisible to them most of the time; seen during forty days only a few times at intervals.
It is the glorified Messiah who is to come a second time, "in power and great glory"--heavenly glory. His Kingdom will be an invisible one as far as mankind are concerned. As our Lord said to the Jews: "A little while and the world seeth me no more." The reason for this invisibility is plain to all Bible students. All spirit beings are invisible to mortals. "No man hath seen God at any time." We are told that "the angel of the Lord encampeth around about those that are his and delivereth them," and that they are "all ministering spirits, sent to minister to those who are to be heirs of salvation." We see them not, because they are on one plane of existence and we on another. The time was that more faith was required to believe in invisible things than is now necessary. Can we not now hear one another speak at a distance of hundreds of miles by telephone? Have we not wireless telegraphy and the X-Ray?
Note our Lord's description of his own Kingdom. We read that when it was demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would appear, he answered and said unto them that it would not appear at all. His words were: "The Kingdom of God doth not come with observation (outward show, visibility); neither shall ye say, Lo, here! or Lo, there! for the Kingdom of God shall be in your midst"--ruling, everywhere present, invisible, except as the eyes of understanding shall recognize the operation of its laws through its earthly channels and servants. Nor should this be difficult to be grasped by any who believe the Scripture records; because is not Satan now such an invisible prince, and are not his angels equally invisible, and does he not exercise a great power directly and through his agents, the fallen angels, or demons, and through deceived earthly agents? "His servants ye are to whom ye render service."
Likewise the spiritual empire of Christ and the Church will have spiritual agents operating amongst men, and human agents also--the Ancient worthies--Abraham, Isaac and all the prophets, declared of the Lord to be worthy of eternal life, perfection. These will constitute the earthly phase of the spiritual Kingdom, executing the will of the King immortal and invisible.-- Hebrews 11:39,40; Psalm 45:16; Luke 13:28.
From this, the Scriptural standpoint, the Second Coming of our Lord, Messiah, is most consistent. He came at his First Advent to lay down the redemption price and to start in operation the blessed conditions of grace, by which, during this Gospel Age, he has been gathering his "elect class," his Bride, out of every nation, kindred and tongue. It was thoroughly consistent with this that he should come a second time, as promised, to receive his church to himself, to seat her as his Bride [OV57] in his throne, and to accomplish through her and through the Ancient worthies, representing Israel in the flesh, the great promise of God made to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, namely, "In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
To count out of our hopes Messiah's Second Coming and the Millennial Kingdom would be to destroy all the glorious prospect set before us in the Scriptures. He who redeemed the world with the sacrifice of his life; he who has gathered the Church during this Gospel Age; he will surely not fail to fulfill the gracious promise of God to bless the world--granting Millennial opportunities to the redeemed world of mankind. "He (Christ) shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied." The church, his Joint-Heirs, who now share his travails, will also share in his glory, and in his blessed work of uplifting the world of mankind.
It is not necessary for us to present the Scripture testimony, respecting the fact of our Lord's Second Coming. The Scriptures on the subject are well-known to all Bible students. The celebrated evangelist, D. L. Moody, after studying the subject, declared that no other subject is so extensively treated in the Bible. However this may be, all who take the Scriptural viewpoint must admit that without the Second Coming of Christ the entire Divine Program would come to naught-- would fail to bring the blessings needed. Our Lord came the first time to redeem. He comes the second time to deliver the redeemed ones.
"Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him," is a statement not inconsistent with our Lord's declaration that "the world seeth me no more." There are two ways of seeing: For instance, the blind sometimes say, "I see." There are eyes of understanding, as well as eyes of physical sight. Many who have the latter have not the former. "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into their hearts."--(2 Cor. 4:4.) The world in general is blind. "Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the heathen."
Only the Lord's saints see in the true
sense of the word, with the eyes of their
understanding. Thus it is written,
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and
your ears, for they hear." (Matt. 13:16.)
The Apostle writes to the Church, I pray
God for you that, the eyes of your understanding
opening, ye may be able to comprehend,
with all saints, the length and
breadth and height and depth and to
know the love of God which passeth all
understanding. (Eph. 3:17,18.) The promise
is that "all the blind eyes shall be
opened and all the deaf ears be unstopped."
(Isa. 35:5.) This will be
during the Millennial Kingdom; and the
result will be that all shall know the Lord,
from the least to the greatest. Not seeing
with the natural sight, but clearly seeing
with the eyes of understanding, all will
appreciate his character and rejoice therein.
We sometimes express this thought
poetically in the words,
"Sun of my soul, my Father dear,
I know no night when thou art near.
O! may no earth-born cloud arise,
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes."
LORD JESUS, make Thyself to me
A living, bright reality!
More present to faith's vision keen,
Than any outward object seen;
More dear, more intimately nigh,
Than e'en the sweetest earthly tie.
[OV58]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
XII. The Great Day of His Wrath
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
OVER AND OVER again the Bible tells us of a great day of wrath impending upon the world--a day of general settlements of accounts--a "day of fierce anger of the Lord," a "day of wrath," a "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation."
Various are the descriptions of this day of trouble. It is also described as a whirlwind of devastation; as a flood of destruction; and as a fire consuming everything before it. It is located at the end of this age, as a dark cloud on the dawning of the new dispensation. In it will come, first, trials upon the Church, the saintly; and secondly, the tribulations of the world in general. A description of some of these judgments and trials has been misunderstood by some to signify eternal torment, because their symbolical character is not fully recognized.
In evidence that these statements respecting the "fire" are symbolical, we quote one passage. We read in Zephaniah 3:8, "Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." We could not find a passage to more distinctly tell of the trouble and fire of that day: but notice that it is the fire of God's anger and not literal fire. Notice again, that after the fire shall have burned itself out --after the great conflagration of trouble --mankind will still be in the earth--and will be blessed. The succeeding verse says: "Then will I turn to the people a pure message, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Thus briefly are we shown the result of the terrible burning. The day of wrath will come in a financial, political, social and religious convulsion, in which the present earth (social order) will pass away with a great commotion, and the new heavens (spiritual powers), and the new earth (social arrangement) will come into permanent control under Emmanuel's Government. The confusion, jargon, Babel of the present, so bewildering to humanity, will give place to the pure message of Divine Truth, emancipating the world from the grievous errors which have intoxicated and bewildered it. Severe will be the cost in the destruction of prevalent institutions, but the results will be well worth it all.
So vivid are the descriptions of this day of wrath that "Second Adventists" have built upon them the theory that the earth will be burned to a cinder and require a thousand years to cool off, at the end of which Christ and the Church, they say, will return to earth and make Paradise out of the ashes. Nor are Adventists alone guilty of this misinterpretation; nearly all the creeds of Christendom mention this great day or epoch with which the Gospel Age is to end, and describe it as a period of literal burning of the earth.
The proper interpretation of the matter is, that these various descriptions are symbolical, instead of literal. They describe God's time of reckoning with the world, in which Justice in many respects will be squared and retribution demanded of those who have knowingly transgressed the laws of righteousness, or who had sympathized with and profited by such doings on the part of others. This is the "day of vengeance" mentioned in the Bible, respecting which the Lord says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Rom. 12:19.) Nor will the recompense coming upon the generation then living be merely for its own injustices [OV59] and failure to apply righteous principles. Evidently the Lord intends to hold the present generation responsible for the transgressions of preceding times, because, instead of properly reprobating the past and denouncing the doctrines and practices of the "dark ages," the present generation has measurably re-endorsed them and maintained them in their creeds, although, present advantages considered, there is no excuse for this.
Amongst the injustices and inequities for which the Lord will require an account are the atrocities of "the dark ages," when for conscience sake men and women were tortured and many of them burned at the stake. In Scriptural language the blood of the martyrs still cries for vengeance, and the present generation will, in the great day of trouble, be required to make amends. To some this may appear an injustice on the part of the Divine Government, yet we may be sure that the Judge of all the earth will do right, and that when we come to see the matter clearly, all lovers of righteousness will be able to endorse his course.
If it be granted that the persecutions of the dark ages were done in a considerable measure of blindness, darkness and superstition, it may also be admitted that in the light of present opportunities the honest-hearted have no excuse for continuance in those theories and superstitions, but have every opportunity for coming to the light of the knowledge of the glorious Gospel, and to an intelligent understanding of the teachings of God's Word. These responsibilities are being shirked by the majority, while many who do see clearly are derelict as respects their duty, and unwilling to take their stand for the Truth and against the error, because of what it would cost them in the way of honor of men and position and "bread and butter."
These principles operated similarly in the end of the Jewish Age, and we are in this argument clearly following leadings of the great Teacher, who said to the Jews in the harvest time of their age that God would require of that generation all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the time of righteous Abel. "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar."--Matt. 23:35.
The generation addressed by our Lord had much advantage every way over all its predecessors, and failed to profit thereby. As he said to them, "Ye garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." (Matt. 23:29,30.) Nevertheless, our Lord and the apostles were treated worse by them than were the prophets by their fathers. How terrible was the visitation of Divine judgment upon the Jewish nation is well known to all familiar with their history. The record is that nearly 2,000,000 perished at the siege of Jerusalem after the internecine war or period of anarchy. Those experiences which befell Natural Israel and resulted in the utter overthrow of that nation in A.D. 70 were, perhaps, the most awful experiences which ever came to any nation. They were a type or foreshadowing of the still more terrible experiences which are to come upon Christendom--Nominal Spiritual Israel-- in the "harvest" time of this age. It is not for us to seek to combat with the world to hinder this impending trouble, this day of wrath. Indeed, the Scriptures assure us in connection with the announcement of this day of trouble that "none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand."-- Daniel 12:1,9,10.
The Divine Revelation respecting the time of trouble is only to a portion of the world--the Church; for her admonition, her instruction, her guidance, "that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished" and that "ye, brethren, should not be in darkness," when "that day shall come as a snare on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." (1 Thes. 5:2-6; Luke 21:35.) This article, therefore, is not expected to be appreciated by the general reader, except in the sense that some may be amused with what they consider to be the folly of giving heed to the predictions of the Word of God.
The Scriptures indicate most distinctly that the trouble of this "day of wrath" will be anarchy--"every man's hand against his neighbor." It is quite true, on the contrary, that the tendency of our day [OV60] is in the very reverse direction, away from individualism and in the direction of unions, trusts and combines. This is manifest in every direction--ecclesiastical, political, social and financial. And just such a tendency of confederacy or federation is distinctly brought to our attention, for, as there were giants in the earth before the flood, so there are to be giant institutions and systems before the great time of trouble breaks into cataclysm. The Scriptures say to the Lord's people, "Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid." --Isa. 8:12.
No one of observation has failed to note that while unions of capital and labor are in progress, there is a distinct dividing line on one side of which are the rich trusts and the kings and their armies, financial, religious, political; on the other side are the masses. Both parties are aggressive. Both are growing in numbers and in strength daily. Both are becoming more than ever determined that they are in the right, and both are more than ever realizing that the trial of their strength in the mighty conflict cannot be far distant. The Scriptures alone foretold these conditions and the outcome. Neither party will give in.
The conflict will be the most severe of the world's history--the more so because both parties at the beginning of the struggle will feel confident of the justice of their cause, and of their strength, and of the sureness of their victory. Hence the conflict will be to the knife, and the knife to the hilt. Peaceable means on both sides will be expected to conquer, but both parties being governed by pure selfishness, judgment will be beclouded and the results will be awful beyond description. Those committed at first to peaceable methods in their disappointment and desperation will become anarchistic. The result will be that the organized system of civilization which now prevails will work its own destruction at the very moment when, in many respects, it will appear to be reaching the climax of prosperity. It will thus furnish an everlasting lesson for men and angels of the destructive tendency of selfishness, the outgrowth of sin. And while it is termed "the day of the Lord's wrath," it would appear to be the natural outworking of violation of Divine Law, rather than a direct interference by the Almighty in human affairs.
The Scriptures tell us that God hardened Pharaoh's heart by promptly hearing his prayer and releasing him from one after another of the various plagues or chastisements which he brought upon himself. In other words, the goodness of God, which should have guided him aright, produced the reverse effect, hardening, instead of softening his heart. So it appears to be in our day. The Lord during the past century has been lifting from the eyes of mankind a veil of ignorance. He has been permitting to shine in upon the human mind great intelligence, previously kept secret. The result is inventions of every kind, bringing to humanity comforts, luxuries, conveniences and wealth beyond the fondest dreams of avarice, and discounting the tale of Arabian Nights, as the arc light discounts the tallow dip.
What might be reasonably expected of God's creatures under such favor, such blessings, from his hands?--what reverence; what faithfulness; what generosity toward fellow-men; what contentment; what peace; what inquiring after the will of God; what endeavor to do his will and to glorify him in body and in spirit! But have these blessed conditions existed in any considerable measure? Alas, no! The very contrary conditions have resulted. Discontent, irreverence, unfaithfulness, selfishness, are more prevalent to-day than ever before. Instead of inquiring, What shall I render unto the Lord my God for all his benefits? the scientific world are endeavoring to get rid of the Almighty entirely, --his personality. These savants tell us--that all we have received is the result of natural processes--that nature is our God; that an intelligent Creator was not even necessary; that the first part of protoplasmic life was generated from the alkalies of the sea, and that man is merely the highest development thus far of this evolution of matter--that he needed no God; had no fall into sin; needed no Redeemer from sin and no Millennial Kingdom with restitution powers to uplift him. Practically all the college-bred--professors and graduates, hold to this godless theory--this theory that we need no intelligent, [OV61] supreme Creator, but a blind force in operation--that all speculation respecting Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power are foolishness; that each cranium makes its own God according to its own development in these qualities. In other words, man is his own God. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." --Psa. 14:1.
It should not surprise us that where the professors lead the public will follow. Hence, under the guidance of the colleges and pulpits of the land gradually, inch by inch, cautiously, faith in God and in the Bible as his Revelation are gradually being undermined. In this fact centers the horrible atrocities which will soon envelop Christendom; just as, a century ago, atheism in France led to the reign of terror there. And, by the way, the French Revolution is significantly intimated in the Bible to be a foreshadowing of the worldwide terror soon to be expected.
That God foreknew present conditions and foretold them more than two thousand years ago is clearly shown in the statements of Daniel 12. The prophet had received a message for the people of Israel, which was plainly explained to him, but very interesting details, not pertinent to his nation, but to the end of this age, were withheld from him. He prayed earnestly for them and got the answer from the angel, "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end...in the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased...and the wise shall understand ...and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation."
Notice this prophecy carefully. Its statements are beautiful in their simplicity; yet the present day cannot be better described in the same number of words. The first item marks our day of rapid transportation and those traversing sea and land in every direction--"running to and fro." There never was such a day before. Less than a century ago there was not a steam engine on earth--not a railroad train, nor a rail. Suddenly, as if touched by magic wand, railroads cover the civilized earth and humanity rushes pell-mell in every direction, as if solely intent upon the fulfillment of this prophecy, of which the majority are in total ignorance.
Nevertheless the great Christian astronomer, Newton, studying this passage long before railroads were thought of, declared his belief in its fulfillment, surmising that a mode of transportation would be discovered which would carry people safely at the rate of "fifty miles an hour." Here we see the wisdom of the man who takes heed to the Word of God. Correspondingly we see the folly of the man who neglects God's Word; for the great Voltaire, making light of the Bible, called attention to Sir Isaac Newton's comment, and called him a "poor old dotard," misled by that foolish book, the Bible. The contrast is accentuated when we remember that Voltaire died only a few years before the locomotive was invented, while the Christian philosopher was dead nearly three centuries.
Note also that the second feature of this prophecy has been fulfilled with equal carefulness. A fever of general education has broken out in the world--public schools have been established in all parts of Christendom. Not only is education now supplied free of charge, but as though to assure a fulfillment of this prophecy, education has been made compulsory by those who know not that there is such a prophecy. Who will tell us that these matters are purely of chance? If they be of chance, then, indeed, "truth is stranger than fiction."
We come now to the third feature: "The wise shall understand"--not the worldly-wise; but those of whom the Scriptures say, "Not many learned; not many great; not many rich; not many wise hath God chosen" to be of his elect Church. Most evidently the intention here is to mark out those of the church who are wise toward God--"the wise virgins." These, and these only, may fully understand the present situation, the time in which we are living, the fulfillment of these prophecies and their culmination in the great time of trouble, "the day of vengeance," with which this age will end, giving place to the new dispensation under Emmanuel's Government.
Next we note the fourth feature of prophecy, "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a [OV62] nation." This fits our topic exactly. We had already portrayed some of the troubles coming and their cause. Here we simply note their connection with the other parts of this prophecy. As world-wide education came as a result of the intermingling of peoples by interchange and traffic and aroused ambition, so the general education of the world is preparing it for the cataclysm of trouble. The world's greatest blessing--knowledge--is becoming its greatest bane. The education that should be bringing all mankind more peace, pleasure, joy, appreciation of the Creator and of each other is producing the reverse effect --discontent, which soon will reach its more aggravated form. Selfish ambition will soon work its own destruction.
In view of these things, what is the Scripture counsel to the saintly and to the world in general? To the former it is, Have full confidence in God, and let patience have her perfect work; wait upon the Lord. Have confidence that his methods are best in every way. Seek the heavenly kingdom--seek to make your calling and election sure at the sacrifice of every earthly interest. To others who have some ear to hear, the message is, "Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be that ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger."--Zeph. 2:3.
During the past year the Overland Monthly has been running a very instructive series of articles by C. T. Russell, Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle, New York. These articles have created widespread attention, calling forth columns of newspaper criticism in a way which seems most remarkable. As a writer, Mr. Russell's books have enjoyed a larger circulation than any English work. Of his work entitled "Studies in the Scriptures," the average output is two thousand three hundred copies for each working day. We regret the records of 1909 are not yet complete, but in 1908 seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand, four hundred and seventy-four volumes were sold.
Since publication, three million five hundred and thirty-four thousand volumes have been circulated. Last year, in addition to these there were three hundred and eight million pages of his tracts circulated. In all literature the Bible is about the only book that has had a larger circulation.
The Chinese Almanac printed at the Imperial Press has a circulation of eight million. The Bible is way ahead of this. One society having circulated over one hundred and seventy million copies. But in American literature, Mr. Russell stands first. In the literature of the world, the order would probably be as follows: The Bible, the Chinese Almanac, the "Studies in the Scriptures," "Don Quixote," "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Hubbard's "Message to Garcia."
TO JESUS ALWAYS
I ALWAYS go to Jesus,
When troubled or distressed;
I always find a refuge
When I with Him can rest.
I tell Him all my trials,
I tell Him all my grief;
And while my lips are speaking
He gives my heart relief.
When full of dread forebodings,
And flowing o'er with tears,
He calms away my sorrows,
And hushes all my fears.
He comprehends my weakness,
The peril I am in,
And He supplies the armor
I need to vanquish sin.
When those are cold and faithless,
Who once were fond and true,
With careless hearts forsaking
The old friends for the new,
I turn to Him whose friendship
Knows neither change nor end:
I always find in Jesus
An ever faithful Friend.
I always go to Jesus;
No matter when or where
I seek His gracious presence,
I'm sure to find Him there.
In time of joy and sorrow,
Whate'er my need may be,
I always go to Jesus,
And Jesus comforts me.
[OV63]
THE DIVINE PROGRAM
GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE
I.--Faith the Foundation of Jewish Character
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE RESURRECTION of Jewish hopes as represented in Zionism is amazing, not only to well-informed Gentiles, but also to the more learned of the Jewish peoples. Seventeen years ago the writer visited the Holy Land to note the evidences of rejuvenation resulting from the increase of rainfall in that region, in harmony with certain prophecies of the holy Scriptures to which he then had been calling attention for more than fifteen years. On that occasion he endeavored to awaken Jewish interest in the prophecies relating to their reestablishment as a nation in their own land, and the Divine blessing then to be poured out upon the Promised Land and the chosen people. But no Jew at that time seemed to have a hearing ear. Amongst the poorer classes of them there was indeed a temporary animation of countenance, but the dejected look returned as they replied that the prophesied blessing could not come until after the year 6,000 A.M., and that their chronology showed this to be about 150 years off. We attempted to show them from their own Scriptures that 6,000 years had already elapsed, and that the "Times of the Gentiles" would soon expire--in 1915-- and that, according to the Scriptures, great blessings would then be poured upon them as a people. But they merely sighed, and by looks and actions said, "A Gentile cannot tell us about our own Scriptures; surely our rabbis are more wise and would give us such consolation, if it were true."
On our return from the Holy Land our report of prevailing conditions was quite widely published in America and Great Britain, and we sent special copies of it to the managers of the Jewish Colonization Committee, representing Sir Moses Montefiore's bounty; also to the managers of the Baron de Hirsch Jewish Colonization Fund. The latter Association was then expending millions of money in endeavoring to establish Jewish colonies in Argentine Republic, while the former was laboring in Palestine. We called the attention of the latter Association to the Scriptural declaration that Israel would be regathered to its own land, and that efforts expended elsewhere would be comparatively fruitless--as they have since proven.
We do not claim that our influence has contributed in the slightest degree to the marvelous awakening of the Jewish people in respect to the rehabilitation of their land and their nation. We are merely noting how marvelous the change that has come over that people since that time! Now Jews voluntarily inform us that they read regularly our weekly discourses, and are specially interested in the items which touch upon Jewish welfare and coming national glory. And, we have been invited by Hebrews to lecture before them on the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures, in which they are evincing a deep and a growing interest.
When Zionism first made its appearance it appealed only to the "poor Jews." The rich and prosperous Jews very generally sneered at Zionism as impracticable, foolish, etc. Prominent Rabbis preach against it, declaring that America is the promised land of the Jew, from which no Palestine prospect could attract him. They declare themselves unorthodox--Jews by [OV64] race and not by faith--iconoclasts, agnostics. Editors of Jewish papers expressed similar views, evidently feeling that the Zionist movement would bring discredit on their race in the eyes of the Gentiles. Meetings were held in which Zionism was decried and made sport of, and American citizenship held up as the ideal for the Jewish youth, etc.
Gradually Jewish sentiment has veered more and more toward Zionism, until to-day Jewish journals find it advantageous to have a Zionist Department. And rabbis and editors find it not wise to run counter to the steadily increasing current of Zionist sentiment. Now they admit that a rejuvenation of Palestine is in progress, that Zionism has a hold upon the hearts of the poorer Jews in every land, and particularly in Russia. Now they admit that the poor of their race have heart-longings for Palestine, which impulse them toward it rather than elsewhere. Now they admit that the rehabilitation of Israel in her own land would not only be advantageous for their poorer brethren, but possibly add to the influence of the less orthodox, who would not think of leaving this and other lands, where they are enjoying so great financial prosperity that they are not thinking particularly of the future nor of the past.
The Power of Jerusalem's Hope.
Do we consider it strange that an influence, a hope, should so quickly spread abroad over all the earth amongst the eight millions of the Hebrew race? Do we consider it "extraordinary patriotism" that, after eighteen centuries of absence from their fatherland, the thought of returning thither should so pulsate the hearts of their whole nation? Do we marvel still more, when we consider that they have been a longer period out of that land than ever they were in it? If these are the interrogations of our mind, they merely prove that we do not comprehend the sentiment which now for nearly thirty-eight centuries has influenced Abraham and his seed!
The fact is, that the Jew is not well known even amongst his most intimate Gentile acquaintances. And he cannot be broadly and intimately understood, except from the standpoint of his religion, which few Gentiles comprehend, and which with the majority of Jews, even, is a matter of prejudice and pride, rather than of clear understanding and religious conviction.
Originally isolated from other nationalities by Divine command, and in accordance with his religious convictions, the Jew became a stranger and an alien to the world at large; and it, resenting his claim of Divine favor and religious superiority, has disdained the Jew and ostracized him--yea, and persecuted him even, in a most un-Christian manner. Cut off thus from social intercourse with Gentiles --shut up by himself, the Jew has cultivated a spirit of social resentment. Crowded in upon himself, he has had the ambition to cope with the Gentiles in every field of progress in a competitive and not a fraternal spirit. For a long time forbidden to own and till the land, he abandoned agriculture and confined himself within certain limits of cities of the old world, and has distinctly marked his "Jewish Quarter." Finding that the Gentile came to him generally under stress, if at all, he has engaged in pawnbroker businesses, and applying to it his natural energy, he learned how to make that business profitable--but thereby frequently increased the animosity of his Gentile neighbors. Gradually his strong character has become chiefly enlisted in money-making --and in this he has a large following amongst the Gentiles, though the latter are comparatively less successful in the strife.
Not until our day, since the overthrow of Jerusalem, has the Jew really had full, fair treatment and equal opportunity with other nationalities in certain parts of Europe and in this land. Now his persevering energy places him in high positions of influence in banking, in merchandising, in newspaper work and in literature. Yet, however great his achievements, however wealthy he may be, there is a great gulf socially between him and his Gentile neighbor. Nor can we claim that this is purely an objection to his religion, for many Gentiles of high social rank hold to very similar religious tenets --Unitarians and others. This social chasm the Jew admits and resents, but does not understand. It would appear to be due largely to the fact that his commercial [OV65] instincts have in these long years gained such an ascendancy as to dominate him in whatever field he may exercise himself. The money sentiment, the cash value, How much is it worth? How much can I get? What will it profit? are sentiments which, to a lamentable degree, afflict all of humanity--some more, some less. But with the Gentiles there are sentiments, there are occasions, there are things and circumstances, into which he enters quite separate and apart from commercialism. This super-commercial sentiment our Hebrew friends generally find it difficult to appreciate and impossible to attain.
What can be the foundation from which proceeds the irrepressible hope and courage of the Jew, which have carried him through bloody seas of persecution, through social ostracism, against the current of prejudice and superstition, to his present lofty stand in the world? Why has he not been crushed, as have other people? Why has he not disappeared from the face of the earth as a race, as have other races? Why is it that to-day, after thirty-eight centuries, he is such a force, such a power in the world financially, that the wealthiest Governments are indebted to him and dare scarcely undertake a war without his co-operation in raising the funds? What is the secret of Jewish hope, courage and pride?
The Chosen Seed of Abraham.
The key of the situation is given us in
the Bible, and nowhere else. The relationship
of Jewish people and the land of
Palestine and the Bible, rightly understood,
constitute a proof that there is a
God: that he has a great and wonderful
Plan or method by which he is dealing
with mankind; that his Plan is connected
with the Jewish nation, and that the
Bible is the record of that Plan. But here
we must remember the truthfulness of the
poet's expression:
"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform."
It is a mistake to suppose that the Bible was written for the world or intended to be understood by the world. Its own testimony is to the contrary of this--that the Divine purposes are intended to be concealed from mankind in general and to be understood only by those who come into heart harmony with the Divine intention, and who from this standpoint "search the Scriptures." It should not surprise us, therefore, that our Jewish friends have not comprehended clearly the Scriptures, which they so reverently and painstakingly preserved from Moses until Christ. And may we not truthfully say that the same lack of understanding very generally prevails, even amongst Christians? Is not the fact that comparatively few of the Lord's people have been privileged to comprehend the length and breadth and height and depth of the Divine Plan, fully in agreement with the Scriptural declaration that such knowledge has been intended throughout the Age only for a very small minority? The hindrances which have blinded so many are the creeds, traditions and Talmud. "The secret of the Lord is with them that reverence him (and His Word) and he will show them his covenant."--Psa. 25:14.
The Scriptures seem to indicate, however, that the time is at hand when "The mystery of God shall be finished," and when the understanding of the Divine Plan may be comprehended by increasing numbers, and amongst these the reverential Jews. Indeed, the Jew should be specially attracted by the outlines of the Divine Plan set forth in the prophecies of his own Scriptures. They explain the experiences of Israel while still in God's favor, and the experiences of the past eighteen centuries of their disfavor, and show how both of these will work together eventually for the blessing of Israel and through Israel for the blessing of the Gentiles.
The Divine Promise to Abraham's Seed.
As the very foundation of Israel's every hope, the mainspring of that people's courage, the motive power of their energy, their perseverance and their pride, has been the Divine promise made to Abraham, their illustrious ancestor, "the friend of God." To Abraham, after certain tests of character--obedience, loyalty, faith--God made a Promise which constitutes the hope, both of Israel and the Gentiles. It reads, "In thy Seed shall all [OV66] the families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 22:18.) Abraham's son Isaac was indicated by the Lord to be the channel through which this blessing should proceed. Later on, Isaac's son, Jacob, was indicated as a further channel. At Jacob's death the Divine blessing passed, by Divine direction, not to a single one of his posterity, but to them all as a whole nation.
Jacob's name was changed to Israel, which signifies a prince influential with God--in Divine favor. This name Israel, indicative of so much of honor and Divine favor, was subsequently applied to the whole nation of Jacob's descendants, who became known as Israelites, or Children of Israel. It was understood by that nation that they were the seed, the posterity mentioned in the promise made to Abraham-- in whom "all the families of the earth should be blessed." They correctly understood that this would signify a great exaltation for their little nation. They had full confidence in that great Promise, because the Lord had secured it to them in a most remarkable manner--he made oath to it. Since he could swear by none greater than himself, he said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; therefore, I will greatly bless thee and I will exceedingly multiply thy Seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand upon the sea-shore ...and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."--Gen. 23:16-18.
This hope in God--that they were his chosen people whom he would use as the channel of Divine favor to all nations-- has ever been the mainspring of Jewish courage and pride. Not all Jews have inordinate self-conceit as the basis for success. Some of them are fearful and some deficient in self-esteem; but they are nerved by the conviction that God was specially interested in them, and the hope that he will yet fulfill to them his Oath-Bound Covenant. A faith so persistent (for thirty-eight centuries) must surely be pleasing to God, and must challenge the admiration even of their enemies. Christian Bible students well know that much of the Bible consists of Israel's past history and prophecies of their coming glory. The past eighteen centuries have been merely a parenthesis in which spiritual Israel has been in process of selection from every nation. The speedy return of Israel to God's favor marks another onward step in the Divine Plan of the Ages. According to the Scriptures, their coming uplift to Divine favor marks the Millennial epoch of blessings so long promised by God through the Hebrew prophets and attested also by our Lord and his apostles, mark the words of Peter--"Times of Refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus Christ, whom the heavens must retain until the Times of Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began!" (Acts 3:19-21.) Jewish Restitution is the first item of the many blessings then to be poured upon mankind by a gracious Creator.
As in future articles we shall outline various Scriptural prophecies in which the Jew is vitally interested, it is our hope that not merely our Hebrew friends will be interested, but also Christian Bible students and non-professors. The coming blessings will be abundant to the blessing of all mankind, but the Jew first, for "God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew"; "For the gifts and calling of God he never repents of."-- Romans 11:2,29,32.
PRESS ON
BUILD thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea.
[OV67]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
II.--Hope Long Deferred Now Reviving
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
ONE OF THE MOST remarkable things in history is the perseverance of Jewish hopes; and this confirms the inspiration of the Bible, which sets forth that hope, tells of its long-delayed fruition and assures us that Israel's hope will persist until its realization. In subsequent articles we will consider the Jewish prophecies and types, which show that the Israelitish dreams of world-wide influence as God's peculiar people are speedily to be realized. We will also show from the Hebrew Scriptures why the fulfillment of the glorious promises made to Abraham and his posterity have been so long delayed--the necessity for the delay and the advantages accruing therefrom. For the present we content ourselves with the bare statement that, according to the Bible, Palestine will be flourishing with a large population of Jews at the close of the year 1914. The Scriptures indicate that the gathering will be "out of all nations," and with considerable wealth and general prosperity. We are not to understand that this means that all the Jews of the world will go to Palestine, but that some of the most pious and zealous from every quarter will gather there. At that time will occur what the Bible terms "Jacob's Trouble," in conjunction with a world-wide trouble, financial, religious, political, social, eventuating in anarchy, and, later on, in Israel's exaltation as the earthly exponent of Messiah's spiritual Kingdom.
Let none think of us as prophesying, but merely as announcing our interpretations of prophecy, which we have been presenting to the public for the past thirty-four years. In 1874, Socialism had scarcely been born, and Zionism was not dreamed of until twenty years later. Now Socialism is the great menace of all the Governments of the civilized world, including Japan, and Zionism is forging ahead with great strides.
In God's province the doors to Palestine as a home have been barred against the Jews for the past sixteen years. And it is during this period that the Jews have begun to specially long for their home land. The Zionist movement is their cry to Heaven, and to each other and to the world. The barring of the doors to Palestine undoubtedly made the Jews more anxious to re-enter it. The embargo was not lifted until Turkey's peaceful revolution put into power men of more modern thought, who have canceled the prohibition and made the Jews welcome to Palestine on the same terms as other peoples.
Six months passed under the new privileges with apparently small results, causing [OV68] astonishment to those who had expected a speedy influx of the exiled people to the Land of Promise. The Zionist Congress, which closed its session in Hamburg, Germany, on the last day of 1909, disclosed the secret of the delay of the Jews to avail themselves of the opened door. It appears that Dr. Max Nordau, the great leader of the Zionists and President of the Association, has been exerting all of his great influence to hold back the Israelites from entering Palestine, until he could bring pressure to bear upon the new Turkish Government to secure from it Charter rights making of Palestine a Jewish State. Dr. Nordau reasoned that the Turkish Government would be greatly advantaged by the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish Government tributary to Turkey-- autonomous, but under the Turkish suzerainty. Such a charter the Turkish Government has continued to refuse, reiterating, however, its Welcome to the Jews, to all parts of the empire including Palestine, with the general privileges of Turkish citizenship. Moreover, they reminded the Jews that Turkey is one of the few nations which had never persecuted the children of Abraham.
The Pent-Up Hopes Irresistible.
At one time it was feared that the Zionist Congress just closed in Hamburg would mark a breach in the society, because Dr. Nordau, its President, with many of its influential members, insisted that the Zionist movement must halt until its demands of an autonomous Government for Palestine should be granted, and because the masses of the Zionists were restive and insisted that the opened door should be promptly entered, leaving the results to God's providence. They reasoned that God, who had promised the regathering of Israel, and who had opened the way, is abundantly able in his own time to fulfill all the other provisions of the great promise made to Abraham-- that his seed, his posterity, should yet bless all the nations of the earth. Sentiment ran high at the Congress, and, notwithstanding the love and esteem in which the Society's President was held and the weighty influence of other leaders under him, the Congress with kind preambles and resolutions of respect for its leaders, passed over their heads a resolution ordering the gradual transfer of all the interests of the Zionists to Palestine. Thus the future center of Zionism is decreed to be the Holy Land. The funds which have been in process of collection for banking purposes, etc., are to be centered there-- the words "gradually transferred" are understood to signify as prompt a transfer as wisdom could sanction in dealing with the various interests and assets of the institution.
Witnesses present at that last Zionist Congress tell of the earnestness and intensity of manner manifested by the delegates representing Israelites in all parts of the world. America, by virtue of donations, membership in Zionist Societies, etc., would have been entitled to a sufficiency of representatives in the Congress to have constituted a majority. But the representation was comparatively small, the cost of travel, no doubt interfering-- perhaps, also, a desire to save the expense in favor of further donations to the work. It is remarkable that so few wealthy Jews have contributed either their influence or money to further the patriotic efforts of their poorer brethren, some of whom so greatly need just such a homing place. However, since the Scriptures indicate the accumulation there of wealth, we have no doubt that during the next few years circumstances will be so shaped providentially that wealthy Jews, as well as poor ones, will congregate there. Meantime, in full accord with prophecies, the climate of Palestine is greatly improving, by reason of greater rainfalls. And a Hebrew named Aaronson has discovered a new kind of wheat, similar to our own, but specially adapted to the soil and climate of Palestine.
Coincidentally, Turkish despatches inform the world that the Turkish Government has commissioned Sir William Wilcox, of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, Chief Engineer of the Survey of the Tigris-Euphrates Delta, to proceed with the reclaiming of Mesopotamia, the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, presumably the site of the Garden of Eden, the cradle of the race, and the home land of Abraham before he removed to Canaan. This considerable work, it is estimated, can be accomplished in about [OV69] three years. It will tend to bring modern civilization and wealth to that quarter, and will doubtless co-operate in the rejuvenation of Palestine.
Thus, gradually, the geographical center of the earth, the Jerusalem vicinity, is resuming importance in the eyes of the world. Those who view the matter through the prophetic telescope foresee the time when "the Law shall go forth from Mt. Zion (spiritual Israel on the heavenly plane) and the Word from Jerusalem, the To-Be Capital of the world under the Millennial Kingdom arrangements. Thither all the nations of earth will send their ambassadors and from thence take their laws. Upon such as will conform to these arrangements the Divine blessing will rest, uplifting them gradually from sin, ignorance and superstition to mental, moral and physical perfection. Thus, according to the Scriptures the whole earth will gradually become the Garden of the Lord--Paradise. And those times or years of restitution will bring the willing and obedient of mankind back again to the full perfection of being, mental, moral and physical, which God intended and exemplified in Father Adam. Thus eventually all the terrible results of Adam's disobedience and fall will be blotted out through the long-promised Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of God under Messiah the Mediator of Israel's New Law Covenant, whose gracious provisions will be open to all the nations of the earth.-- Acts 3:19-23; Jer. 31:31; Zech. 14:1-6,14-20.
World Empire Ambitions.
Everybody knows that since the days of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, many of the nations of earth have cherished the ambition that the fates had decreed their superiority above other nations, and that all other nations should submit to their rule for their own advantage. This conceit prompted Nebuchadnezzar to be the first conqueror of the world. Cyrus the Mede concluded that he was still more fit to be the world's emperor and established the dominion of the world-wide Empire of the Medes and Persians. A little later the conceit was grasped by a young man scarcely out of his teens, and Alexander the Great conquered the world and gave its scepter to Greece. Later on the Caesars wrested the power and made Rome Empress of the world. Still later, the Popes became the virtual rulers of earth, under a claim of spiritual authority. Napoleon ended the papal empire of earth and sought to appropriate the honors of world domination to himself and France. History shows us that he almost accomplished his designs. The Bible explains that he failed, not because of incapacity, but because of the Divine foreordination that the fifth universal Empire of earth will be that of Messiah--a spiritual and invisible reign of Christ and the saintly elect members of the church, his Bride, operating through fleshly Israel, then to be restored to Divine favor and made chief of the nations of earth and the channel of Divine blessing.
It is not so generally known, even to Christian Bible students, that the Jews entertained this idea of world empire long centuries before Nebuchadnezzar grasped earth's scepter. Fourteen hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar became the world's Emperor, God promised this honorable station to Abraham and his seed--to a nation from his loins. For Abraham's assurance and for the assurance of all afterward interested in that promise, God made oath to him, so that by two immutable things, His Word and His Oath, we and all in accord with the Divine Purpose might know of a surety that the promise or Covenant is not a conditional one--that it could not fail, that the fulfillment, though long deferred, would be sure.-- Hebrews 6:18.
Those who have wondered at the indomitable spirit of the Jew which has preserved his nationality for more than thirty centuries, while other nations in many lands have bloomed and faded and died. The Chinese, indeed, do show a great persistency, yet they have no acceptable history connecting them definitely with the remote past and with creation, as have the Jews alone. The secret of this history and national persistency is found in the relationship between Israel and God. And the beginning of that relationship and dominating hope is marked by God's promise and oath to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." The thought of blessing the [OV70] world was not with Israel, as with other nations, merely a dream of imperial power, dignity and rich revenue. Their ambition based upon this promise made to Abraham was that they as a nation consecrated to God and accepted by God as his peculiar people would be used by the promised Messiah as his agency or channel for bringing the whole world into subjection to the Divine Law--for their moral as well as their physical blessing and uplifting out of sin and death conditions. And this hope is soon to be realized.
This hope, this ambition to be God's people, to be God's servants, to be God's channels of blessing to the remainder of mankind, attached itself to the Hebrew mind in its every contact with the promises of God, the Law and the prophecies, and with all their experiences under Divine provisions, which were accepted as necessary instructions of God to qualify them for their foreordained service to mankind. Thus their early experience in reaching Canaan through the wilderness were accepted as lessons necessary for their development. Their experiences under the Judges were disheartening, but accepted as necessary instructions and preparations. Then came the Kingdom Epoch in their history, when the reign of Saul, David and Solomon marked periods of progress in the direction of their long-cherished hopes. Especially in Solomon's day they felt that the promises to Abraham was about to be fulfilled. Notwithstanding the fact that Solomon conscripted the labor of the people for the construction of his great temple, and notwithstanding the fact that he taxed them heavily for internal improvements, etc., they submitted in a measure of cheerfulness, because the wisdom, the riches and the greatness of that king attracted world-wide notice and seemed to be leading on to the grand climax of their hopes--the establishment of the seed of Abraham as the chief nation of earth, from whose capital, Jerusalem, the Law would go forth to every nation, people, kindred and tongue. Indeed, it is quite probable that Israel's boast of Divine promise of the rulership of the world spread abroad amongst the other nations and awakened in them a rival ambition. It should be noticed, however, that Israel sought its dominion of the world under Divine supervision and not through conquering armies and ambitious generals. Solomon extended the boundaries of his kingdom merely to the limitations which had been outlined in the Divine assurances and, instead of seeking to conquer the world, his was known as the "kingdom of peace."
From the time of Solomon's death, Israel's history is a record of disappointments as respects their great hopes of world domination. The division of the nation into two parts, Judah and Israel, and subsequently their overthrow by Syria and Babylonia shook the conceit of many in respect to the Divine Promise, so that when in the days of Cyrus, in harmony with Divine Providence, the millions of Israelites who had gone into captivity as settlers in other lands, preferred to remain where they were, when given the opportunity of returning to the promised land. Less than fifty-five thousand out of the many millions had so great a love for God and so strong a hope in the Abrahamic promise as to brave a return to the desolated land from which their fathers had been forcibly removed. And just so, we believe, it is to-day. The Jews who would regather to Jerusalem now, according to Hebrew prophecy, will be the devout, the faithful, who still trust in that Abrahamic promise. The masses now will prefer to remain in symbolical Babylon, as the masses in the day of Cyrus preferred to remain in literal Babylon.
During the 536 years from the time of the return of the faithful fifty thousand under the decree of Cyrus, down to the time of the building of Herod's Temple, more gorgeous than that of Solomon, the Israelites had a variety of trying experiences, all of which should have tended to keep them very humble and near to the Lord. As a matter of fact those trying experiences did make of the Jews a peculiar people, a religious people, more advanced along moral and religious lines than any other nation on the earth. But, naturally enough, the religious nation was not composed of the pure in heart only. Their priests became to a considerable degree Higher Critics and politicians of the sect known as "Sadducees" or Reform Jews who believed merely in the present life and doubted the fulfillment of the Abrahamic [OV71] promise--hoping vaguely that possibly Israel might some day attain an influential position, not by Divine interposition, but by human wisdom and politics. On the other hand, there was a strong holiness party at that time amongst the Jews known as the Pharisees, who went to the opposite extreme and magnified the letter of the Law to such a degree that they entirely lost sight of its real spirit or intent. Nevertheless as between these two great extremes there was then, as we should expect, a minority in heart-harmony with the Lord and his Promise, and still "waiting for the consolation of Israel," --"Israelites indeed" in whom was no guile.
Natural Israel--Spiritual Israel.
It was at the climax of Israel's second attainment of national importance and dignity as a subordinate kingdom, under the Roman Empire in the days of Herod, that a great transaction occurred, which few of the Jews then understood and which few since understand, and which few even of Christians understand Scripturally.
The Divine Purpose contemplated a greater Kingdom and a greater blessing of all the nations of the earth than the most hopeful of the Jews had even dreamed of --a blessing and uplifting to perfection and harmony with God and eternal life. They did not see that their sin-offerings were merely typical, and that, according to the Law, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, signified that a man's life would be necessary to redeem a man's life --to redeem Adam and his race from the sentence of death. They did not see that before Messiah could legally bless the world and emancipate them from sin and death and secure to them eternal life, he must first redeem them through the sacrifice of himself--typified in various of the typical sacrifices of their law. Hence they expected Messiah's manifestation in power and great glory (now soon to be revealed), and this hindered them from accepting as him the lowly One who submitted himself to a death and crucifixion--although he was holy, harmless and undefiled, separate from sinners, the anti-typical Passover Lamb.
The intervening period of nearly nineteen centuries has greatly perplexed the Jews. They perceive their cast-off condition --that they have been without prophet or priest or other mark of Divine favor all these centuries, subject to persecution. Had they seen what we are now about to relate the situation would have been clear and easily understood; but God did not wish to have it understood until his "due time." The Jews perceived nominal Christendom confused in doctrines and practices, "a cage for every unclean and hateful bird." (Rev. 18:2.) They could not believe that God had cast off their nation and had accepted instead as his peculiar people the nations styled Christendom. They reasoned that much of the theology and many of the practices of nominal Christendom were heathenish, pure and simple. They did not see that in that great mass of nominal Christians there were here and there saints of God, and that these alone from the Divine standpoint composed the spiritual Israelites--a little flock, containing not many rich, not many great, not many wise, not many learned, not many noble, according to worldly estimation.
The explanation of this matter, which the Scriptures term the "mystery hidden from past ages and dispensations," is this: It is the Divine Purpose to have two Israels --both of them specified in the promise to Abraham. First, a spiritual Israel whose destiny is to share in the "first resurrection," and be like unto the angels, spirit beings invisible to men. As Messiah was typified by Isaac, Abraham's son, this spiritual class, intended to be his joint-heirs on the spirit plane, were typified by Rebecca, Isaac's wife. This spiritual Messiah, Jesus and his Church exalted through suffering and as a reward for faith and obedience and self-sacrifice, must first be completed and exalted to the heavenly condition before the earthly blessing can come to natural Israel, fulfilling to her all the gracious promises which have encouraged the hearts of her children these many centuries. And the fulfillment, when realized, will far exceed all anticipation.
Thus the promise to Abraham was divided into two portions; for God said to him: "Thy seed shall be (1) as the stars of heaven (spiritual Israel), Messiah and his elect Bride," and (2) "Thy seed shall [OV72] be as the sand of the sea shore"--natural Israel and the multitudes of mankind who shall receive the Divine blessing through both spiritual and natural Israel. For the Scriptures indicate that as all nations are privileged to come to the United States and become citizens, so during the reign of Messiah all nations will be privileged to become Israelites and thus to share in the blessings of Israel's New Covenant. (Jer. 31:31; Rom. 11:27.)
Thus ultimately all the willing and obedient of the human family will be adopted into Abraham's family. At the conclusion of Messiah's reign of a thousand years, the whole earth will be filled with Abraham's seed or posterity, and lifted up to full perfection and harmony with God; because all the unwilling and disobedient will ere then have been utterly destroyed by Immanuel in the Second Death.
ONLY A LITTLE WHILE
ONLY a little while to walk with weary feet, Only a little while the storms of life to meet, Only a little while to tread the thorny way, Only a little while, then comes the perfect day. Only a little while to spread the truth abroad, Only a little while to testify for God, Only a little while, the time is fleeting fast, Only a little while, earth's sorrows all are past. Only a little while, then let us do our best, Only a little while, then comes the promised rest. Only a little while, oh, what a word is this! Only a little while, then comes the perfect bliss. Only a little while, then death shall be withdrawn, Only a little while, then pain and tears are gone; Only a little while, then by the Crystal Sea, Only a little while, then we shall dwell with Thee. Only a little while, Lord, let Thy Kingdom come! Only a little while, Thy people sigh for home; Only a little while, the City bring to sight, Only a little while, come end earth's dreary night!
[OV73]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
III.--Israel's "Double"--A Fact and a Theory
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
IT IS A FACT that the history of the Hebrew people divides itself naturally into two equal parts--1845-1/2 years of favor, followed by 37-1/2 years of trouble and disruption, and 1845-1/2 years of disfavor, followed by 37-1/2 years of returning favor and arising from the dust. It is a fact also that this division of Israel's experiences is distinctly shown in the Bible--in their own Scriptures. So remarkable a fact would be worthy of deepest attention by both Jews and Christians, even if it were not noted in the Scriptures. But when it is found clearly outlined in the inspired prophecies this secondary fact bids all take notice who have respect to the Bible as the Divine message. If our Hebrew friends would investigate and see this, it would add impetus to the Zionist movement, and, in general, to all the reviving hopes of God's Chosen People. Surely such remarkable facts cannot be considered accidental! Surely they show design on the part of the Great Supervisor of earth's affairs! Surely they indicate that he who called Israel to be his Chosen People is the same who scattered Israel as the prophets foretold; and the same who promised that in his own due time He will not only regather a remnant of that people to the promised land, but return to them Divine favor. Under that influence they will become the great nation of earth to which all other nations will flow, and from which, according to the original promise God's blessing will flow to every nation, people, kindred and tongue, during the thousand years of Christ's reign--the Millennium. But we must not be content with assertion. We must prove these facts.
Israel's 1845-1/2 Years of Favor.
There is no question as to when the nation of Israel had its beginning. It was at the death of Jacob, when he called his twelve sons to his bedside and gave to them collectively his blessing--their participation in the great promise which God made to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob with an oath. (Psa. 105:9,10.) We are not to expect the Word of the Lord to state the period of time from the death of Jacob to the spring of A.D. 33, when unwittingly the Jews crucified the Lord of Glory. (Acts 3:17.) Rather we are to understand that the Divine method has been to secrete the various features of the Divine Plan and to permit them to be understood only as they become due of fulfillment, as a proof to us of Divine foreknowledge. Accordingly it is not surprising that the exact date of Jacob's death--the exact beginning of the Jewish [OV74] nation, is left in a degree of obscurity; yet fully revealed by a circuitous route. St. Paul, once a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and therefore well-versed in the traditions of his day, and further, we believe, Divinely inspired in his utterances, furnishes the statement that the giving of the Law was 430 years from the making of the Covenant with Abraham. The first feature of the Law was the Passover on the night preceding the exodus from Egypt. This being fixed, we have merely to ascertain the time between the coming of Abraham into the land of promise, when he became heir of the Covenant, and the death of Jacob, which, we will demonstrate, was 232 years.
Abraham was seventy-five years old when the Covenant was made with him at the death of Terah (Gen. 12:4), and Isaac was born twenty-five thereafter.-- Gen. 21:5.
Thus, from the Covenant to the birth of Isaac.............. 25 years
From the birth of Isaac to the birth of Jacob (Gen. 25:26).................. 60 "
From the birth of Jacob to
his death (Gen. 47:28)........ 147 "
---
Total years from the making
of the Covenant with Abraham
to the death of Jacob, the
beginning of Israel's national
history was..................... 232 "
---
From the Abrahamic Covenant, the day Abraham entered Canaan, to the day Israel left Egypt (Ex. 12:41), at the Passover........................ 430 "
Deduct the period from the
Covenant to Jacob's death, as
above........................... 232 "
---
Thus we have what we seek, the length of time between Jacob's death and the exodus of his posterity, which was..... 198 "
To this add the period of the wilderness...................... 40 "
The period in Canaan until the division of the land between the tribes...................... *6 "
The period of the judges.....*450 "
The period of the Kings of Judah...........................*513 "
The period of the Desolation. *70 "
The period from the Desolation by Cyrus the Median King to A.D.1........................*536 "
Total years from Jacob's death to the beginning of the period known as Anno Domini.....1813 "
From A.D. 1 to the crucifixion
of Jesus at the Passover
in the Spring of A.D. 33--
Jewish reckoning................ 32-1/2"
----
Total period of Israel's waiting for the Kingdom under Divine favor and recognition....1845-1/2"
(*Space does not permit our giving the details respecting the various periods above mentioned, but we have it clearly demonstrated in print and will be pleased to loan the book of evidences to all who will send post card request (with a promise to return the book by mail. Address the writer at Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Our Hebrew friends may be disposed to question our fixing the date of the end of their favor in the Spring of A.D. 33, because that date is identified with Jesus and his death. But in his prediction five days before death he said as he wept over the Holy City, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets and stoneth them that are sent unto you. How often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Now I say unto you, Your house is left unto you desolate. Ye shall see me no more until that day when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matt. 23:37-39.) However, all reasonable people should be amenable to facts. The death of Jesus is a fact witnessed to by the millions whose faith has been built contrary to ordinary logic upon the vicarious death of one who was executed by his countrymen, not for claiming he was Jehovah, but because he declared himself--"the sent of God"-- "the Son of God"--"the Messiah." Interpret the fact how we may, it is there, and deserves consideration.
History tells us that Israel's national [OV75] troubles began shortly after the death of Jesus. The history of the 37-1/2 years between the death of Jesus and the utter destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and his army (A.D. 70) is so elaborated by the Jewish historian Josephus as to need no comment from us. Josephus shows that during that period insurrection broke out and increasing turbulence, until, at the end, practically nothing remained to be done but for the Roman authority to assert itself, and then it was futile. Israel as a nation, as a Kingdom, perished in A.D. 70, as many of the prophets had foretold.
Now the remarkable fact is to be noted that a corresponding period of 1845-1/2 years from the death of Christ A.D. 32-1/2 brings us to A.D. 1878, a year memorable for the meeting of the Berlin Conference of Nations, at which a Hebrew, Disraeli, as the representative of Great Britain, was accorded the place of chief honor as the leading spirit. Moreover, the decisions of that Conference had a weighty influence in the affairs of God's Chosen People. Under the ruling of that Conference of the Great Powers of Europe the various Balkan States, divisions of the Turkish Empire, were placed under the supervision of the Governments whose interests were contiguous. By that division of responsibility for peace in the Turkish provinces, Egypt and Palestine, as portions of the Turkish Empire, come under the protection of Great Britain and France. The French made only a partial success of their venture in digging the Suez Canal and in the turning over of that canal to the British, the French abandoned their responsibilities in Egypt and Palestine, to the British, although the Egyptian Government and the Turkish authority are both recognized.
The effect has been the considerable opening up of Egypt, which the British found to be to their financial interest to exploit. Palestine nearby was too poor to be worthy of exploitation, but nevertheless profited greatly by the British influence in Egypt. The greater peace and security prevailing under the lee of the British flag has been beneficial to the land during the intervening thirty-two years. Meantime, God's blessing has been returning in a remarkable degree to the Hebrew people in the various lands to which they were scattered. In this time they have risen to prominence not only financially, but also in literary and scientific circles. In a word, ever since the Berlin Conference in 1878 Israel's star has been in the ascendant.
Even the persecutions permitted by providence in Russia (and other persecutions the Scriptures indicate may yet be expected) have had a beneficial influence in arousing that nation and making many of them long for the home land, one result of which is the Zionist Movement, which more and more is captivating the hearts of patriotic Israelites: especially such of them as still have reverence for the Promise and Oath of God to father Abraham, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
From an entirely different line of prophecy we will later show that according to the Scriptures Israel is to be rehabilitated as a nation in the near future-- about the year 1915. The Scriptures, however, indicate that at that same time they will have great distress as a people. "It is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be delivered out of it." (Jer. 30:7.) The deliverance will be so marked, so notable, that the whole world will begin to realize that Israel's outcast period, cut off from Divine favor, was not designed to be forever, but merely for an equal period of time to that in which they enjoyed God's favor.
Some may be inclined to remind us that Israel experienced various captivities and despoliation prior to A.D. 32-1/2. We assent to this, but call attention to the fact that in all those trying experiences they still had special evidences of the Divine supervision and that their tribulations were designed for their purification and blessing. On the other hand, the period since A.D. 32-1/2 is particularly marked by the prophet as being without Divine favor. "I will scatter you into all lands, where I will show you no favor." The prophet Isaiah, referring to this period of cutting off from Divine favor, declares: "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a remnant ever so small, like Sodom should we have been, unto Gomorrah should we have been compared." (Isa. 1:9.) Isaiah (53:1) again prophesied respecting the failure of [OV76] Israel to hear the Divine message, saying: "Lord, who hath believed our report." And again he writes prophetically of their rejection of Messiah: "I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall kneel down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not hear; but ye did what is evil in my eyes, and that wherein I had no delight did ye choose. Therefore, thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, those who serve me shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, those who serve me shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, those who serve me shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; behold, those who serve me shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry out from pain of heart, and from a broken spirit shall ye howl; and ye shall leave behind your name for an oath unto my elect ones, when the Lord Eternal will slay thee; but his servants will he call by another name." --Isa. 65:12-15.
Many Jews realize the fitness to them, during this long period in which they have been outcast from God's favor, of not only the above prophecies, but others which declared that the Lord would make them "a by-word and hissing amongst the nations" where he would scatter them. And again, that they should be without prophet and without priest many days--without any communication with God whatever. When noting the fulfillment of these prophecies against Israel we must not forget the equally strong testimonies of God through the prophets, that "he who scattered Israel will gather them again." "Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord, when it shall not be said any more, The Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, as the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north (Russia, where nearly one-half of the Jews reside), and from all the countries whither he had driven them; and I will cause them to return unto their land which I have given unto their fathers"-- Jer. 16:14-15.
Moreover, it is explicitly declared that the Lord will no more forever after that scatter his people, but, on the contrary, that at that time he will enter into a New Covenant with them, providing for them a better Mediator than Moses--Messiah-- of whom Moses wrote: "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul, which will not hear that (obey) prophet, shall be destroyed from amongst the people."--Deut. 18:15,18. (Acts 3:22-23.)
The completeness of their scattering and the apparent hopelessness of their case must be apparent to every thinking Hebrew. They not only have no king, but they have no priest. The demoralization incident to their scattering was so great that not a Jew in the world can positively affirm to what tribe he belongs, and consequently none is able to trace his lineage to the tribe of Levi and Aaronic ancestry. Having no priest, they can have nothing even simulating the Day of atonement and its typical sacrifices for sins. According to the rationale of their own teachings they are entirely cut off from fellowship and relationship with God, except as that relationship subsists in the original Covenant which God made with Abraham and confirmed with the Divine oath.
This Double, or Parallel, Foretold.
If we now have the facts of history before us clearly; if we see that Israel was in Divine favor from the death of Jacob to the death of Christ, and that there their decline began, and that a similar period of time from the death of Jesus brought them to a revival of Jewish hopes in A.D. 1878; And if we see that the 37-1/2 years of failing then are paralleled now by 37-1/2 years of rising to favor and influence, let us rejoice in what we see and look further. We shall next look to the prophecies which distinctly foretold this "double" or parallel of Israel's favor with a like period of disfavor.
After the declaration, "Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods (rulers) day and night, where I will not show you favor." (Jer. 16:9-13.) then we read verse 18, "And first (before the return of favor) I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double," literally "two-fold," from the Hebrew word mishneh. What could be plainer than this? [OV77] The prophet declares that from the time of Israel's casting off from all favor until the time of their return to favor would be a repetition or duplication in time of their previous history, during which they enjoyed Divine favor. We have already indicated this double or "two-fold" feature of Israel's history and that the turning point was at the time of their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah when they cried to Pilate against him, saying, "His blood be upon us and upon our children." The Lord took them at their word, and they have endured a severe retribution. Meanwhile their hearts and minds have been blinded by prejudice for four substantial reasons:
1. The teaching of some that Jesus in his one person was both the Father and the Son, both the Almighty and the Messiah. This erroneous teaching the Jewish mind properly rejects as both unscriptural and irrational.
2. They did not realize how great their Messiah must be--that in order to give them eternal life as human beings, and through them to extend the same opportunity or blessing to others, the Messiah must first die, must first sacrifice his earthly life, that he might give it to Israel and to the world, while the Father, Jehovah, exalted him to the heavenly plane as a reward for his obedience and self-sacrifice.
3. Another matter which they did not perceive, and which they are not to be specially blamed for not discerning, was the fact that God proposed the selection of a small handful of humanity, to be associates with Messiah in his glorious Kingdom work of blessing Israel and the world in connection with the New Covenant promised to Israel in Jeremiah 31:31 and elsewhere. This fact, that the Messiah would have a Church or "Body" associated with himself and on the spirit-plane is nowhere specified in the original Abrahamic promise, although it is implied. When the Lord said to Abraham, "Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the seashore," the star feature of the illustration represents the higher or spiritual or heavenly seed of Abraham, the Church. The nucleus of this spiritual "seed of Abraham" was selected from amongst the Jews, and the remainder is being gathered since from amongst the Gentiles. This spiritual seed is being gathered out during the second half of Israel's mishneh, "double" or "two-fold" experiences.
4. Another matter which has confused our Hebrew friends on this subject is the fact that they do not discern as between the nominal Christian Church numbering hundreds of millions, and the saintly few lost to human sight in this great mass-- the saintly few who constitute the "Church of the Firstborn," the antitypical Levites and priests. Even to Christian people, as the Apostle declares, this election or selection of the saints of this Gospel Age as the spiritual seed of Abraham is a "mystery." --Col. 1:26,27.
The Very Turning Day Indicated.
Next we notice God's testimony through another prophet which indicates the very day on which Israel's "double" turned-- the very day on which the first-fold or division of Israel's experiences of favor ended, and on which the second-fold or division of Israel's disfavor began. Before we quote the prophecy we call attention to the fact that different prophecies take different standpoints, and then speak as though the prophet stood at that particular time and place. For instance, Jeremiah stood in his own day and said, "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will do," thus and so, and render unto you "double." The prophecy we are now quoting is different. Zechariah (9:9-12) in prophetic vision took his stand at the end of Jewish favor on the very day when their "double" or mishneh turned, on the very day when Jesus fulfilling his prophecy, rode on the ass to the brow of the Mount of Olives and there, overlooking Jerusalem, wept over it and declared "Your house is left unto you desolate."
Note the proof of this. The prophecy says: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. Righteous and victorious is he; lowly and riding upon an ass, upon a colt the foal of a she-ass." (This is the same one who ultimately shall cut off the battle-bow and speak peace unto the nations, and whose dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth.) [OV78] But first national power was to pass from the Jews for a time, and thus we read (V. 12), "Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope!" This is the invitation of Messiah "to the Jew first." But foreseeing the rejection of the invitation by the nation as a whole, the Lord through the prophet adds, "Even to-day do I declare that I will recompense two-fold unto you." Or, as in our Common Version, "Even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee."
Reputable Jewish witnesses in the New Testament show that Jesus thus offered himself to Israel as their King, and at the same time as their Passover Lamb, on the 9th day of the first month A.D. 33--five days before his crucifixion as the Passover Lamb--on the very day when the Passover Lamb should have been taken into the houses of those who would be protected by its blood of sprinkling and nourished by its flesh. We are not faulting Israel in general for not being sufficiently spiritual to discern the blessed opportunities that were theirs, for we find that similar conditions have prevailed in the meantime and prevail to-day all over Christendom. Only a small number, either of Jews or Gentiles, have been sufficiently saintly to be accounted members of this elect, select, spiritual seed of Abraham, or even to understand this "mystery." Yet, shortly, as members of the Great Messiah and under the headship of the glorified Jesus, the saintly, spirit-begotten church will begin to perform to Israel, and through Israel to all nations, the glorious promise to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
"She Hath Received Double."
Let us now notice a third Scripture which speaks of Israel's "double." (Isa. 40:1-2.) As Jeremiah looked at the matter from the far past, and told what would come; and as Zechariah stood at the turning point and told of the very day when the second half of Israel's experiences began, Isaiah took a still different standpoint. Coming down prophetically to the end of the "double" in 1878, he cries: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to the heart of Jerusalem and call out unto her that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord double (the second half of her experiences, outcast) for all her sins."
Slow, indeed, to comprehend all the things that are written would be the heart that could see nothing in these wonderful coincidences, and, to such, it would be useless to multiply evidences or to exhort to faith. An appreciation of the Divine Word necessitates first of all a right and teachable attitude of mind. Those who have not yet attained that condition of heart must needs wait. If they cannot receive instruction by the eye or ear or heart of Faith they must needs wait until the actual demonstrations of the "time of trouble" coming, and the subsequent uplifting of Israel, in harmony with these prophecies, shall be fulfilled.
The proof that Israel's disfavor will completely terminate in A.D. 1915 and thenceforth their national polity be reestablished, we leave for a future article.
[OV79]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
IV--Chastened "Seven Times."
A Period of 2520 Years
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
WHEN ENTERING into Covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, God of course foreknew that the nation whose fathers courageously shouted "All the Lord our God hath commanded will we do," would really not do those things, but, like the remainder of the world, would be swayed by the forces of sin and the weakness of heredity. Consequently, when setting forth to the chosen people the blessing which the Lord their God would give unto them, if they would be obedient to his Law and walk in his statutes, God also set forth what they might expect in the event of their failure so to do. And incidentally, in connection with the outlining of their punishments for transgression, the Lord prophetically in a hidden and covered manner, supplied information as to how long his chosen people would be under the hand of a chastening providence before being restored to Divine favor.
The period of their chastening is told in the expression, "Seven Times." The Lord's words are:
"And if, even with these things, ye will not hearken unto me, then will I give forth correction, Seven Times, for your sins. So will I break your pomp of power and will set your heaven as iron and your land as bronze; and your strength shall be spent in vain and your land shall not yield her increase; and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.
"If, therefore, ye will go in opposition to me, and not be willing to hearken unto me, then will I yet further plague you Seven Times, according to your sins.... And I, even I, will plague you Seven Times, for your sins, and will bring upon you a sword that shall inflict the covenanted avenging....And I, even I, will correct you Seven Times for your sins; and ye shall eat of the flesh of your sons ....And I will give your cities unto desolation, and make your holy places dumb, and I will find no fragrance in your satisfying odour; and I will make the land dumb, and your foes that dwell therein shall regard it with dumb amazement; when even you I scatter among the nations, and make bare, after you, a sword. Then shall your land become an astonishment, and your cities a desolation. Then shall the land be paid her sabbaths, all the days she lieth desolate, while ye are in the land of your foes; then shall the land keep sabbath, and pay off her sabbaths; all the days she lieth desolate shall she keep sabbath--the which she kept not as your sabbaths, while ye dwelt thereupon. For the land shall be left of them [OV80] and shall be paid her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them. They also accepting as a payment the punishment of their iniquity, because, yea, because my regulations they refused, and my statutes their soul abhorred."--Lev. 26:18-46.
We have made but a brief quotation from this remarkable prophecy which has been so accurately fulfilled--especially since the time of the rejection of Jesus. However, be it noted that the prophecy distinctly intimates that this Divine disfavor is not to last forever, but to be for "Seven Times." In our next article we will show what their Sabbaths have to do with the matter and how the prophecy of the desolation of the land, the paying of her Sabbaths, has already been fulfilled. Here we want to notice the "Seven Times" or seven symbolic years of chastening-- where they began; where they will end; and the fact that they are symbolical and not literal years.
Evidently the various translators who have handled these verses have been perplexed, and therefore have caused our Common Version improperly to read Seven Times more. This could not mean Seven Times more than the sins would deserve, for God would not be thus unjust; neither could it mean Seven Years more, because Israel's punishments, for sin were not marked off in periods of seven years. As a matter of fact, on account of idolatry, the nation went into captivity to other nations round about some eighteen times, the periods varying from a few months to eighteen years. Even the captivity which came upon them in the days of Zedekiah, and which lasted for seventy years would not wholly fulfill the spirit of this prophecy. Besides, could we suppose that God would specifically mark out the little captivities, etc., and absolutely ignore Israel's great period of disaster and desolation of the land and scattering of their people among all nations?
The Seven Times here repeated with such emphasis evidently marked the great indignation of God against Israel; and the prophesied restoration of his people to Divine favor is evidently to be at the end of those Seven Times. Then God will remember his Covenant and fulfill all of its gracious provisions. St. Paul foretold this, saying, "Hath God cast away his people? God forbid!...God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew! ...Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in....For this is my Covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the Gospel they are enemies for your sakes; as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes."-- Rom. 11:1-2,25-28.
Note the facts before us:
(1) God foreknew and foretold the rejection of Israel for a time, but not forever.
(2) He declared and reiterated that the period of their rejection would be Seven Times.
(3) Those Seven Times or years cannot be understood literally, because Israel's rejection has lasted many times seven years.
(4) Whatever period those Seven Times signifies, that period is not yet fulfilled.
(5) There will be two possible places for the beginning of those Seven Times. Surely it was as far back as the time of the destruction of Jerusalem A.D. 70, following the rejection of Messiah and his message. Yes, it was further back than that event; for at that time they were under the Roman yoke, and even their great King Herod was not a Jew, but an Edomite of the family of Esau. This fact would carry us several centuries further back to the time when the last Jewish King was on the throne. Apparently those "Seven Times" of Israel's disfavor began with the dethronement of Zedekiah, the last King of Judah.
"Take Off the Crown"--"I Will Overturn
It."
As a matter of fact, we find that Israel's Seven Times of disfavor began on that fatal day of which the Prophet wrote respecting their last king, Zedekiah, "O thou profane and wicked prince, whose time has come that iniquity shall have an end; remove the diadem and take off the crown; this shall not be the same! I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more; until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him. (Ezek. 21:25-27.) "The Seven Times," which began on that day, are due to end October, 1914--Seven Times or seven symbolic years, according to Jewish counting.
[OV81]
The lunar year of three hundred and sixty days is scripturally used as a symbolic "Time" or year, in which each day represents a year. (Ezek. 1:6.) Hence, Seven Times would represent symbolically (7 x 360) 2520 years. We therefore have from this standpoint the Divine prophecy or prediction that God's disfavor upon his chosen people would last Seven Times, or 2520 years. We have already shown what overturning the crown indicates. We have demonstrated that this period of disfavor began at the dethronement of Zedekiah, the last Jewish king. We have already quoted Ezekiel's prophecy respecting the incident--that the kingdom would be overturned, overturned, until Messiah would accept it and raise up Israel out of the dust to fulfill to her, and through her to all nations, the glorious things prophesied to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob by the Divine oath--"In thee and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."--Gen. 12:3.
Our space forbids that we should enter into the details of the chronology; but those desirous of obtaining it we will be glad to serve, if advised. Briefly, the chronology from Zedekiah's dethronement runs thus: Captivity to Babylon lasted seventy years; restoration to the land, but not to kingly power and honors, was proclaimed to the Jews A.D. 536 by Cyrus the Persian King. Thus the period from Zedekiah to A.D. 1 was (70 plus 536) 606 yrs. Deduct 606 from the total of 2520 years, and the remainder shows a balance of 1914 years of Israel's disfavor during the period which we term Anno Domini. In other words, by the full end of the year 1914 (Jewish reckoning, October), Israel's Seven Times of chastisement and correction from the Almighty will have been fulfilled. Then will begin toward Israel Divine favor, forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God, uplifting from the dust, and all the New Covenant privileges and blessings declared by Jeremiah (31:31.) The terms will be the same as under the Law Covenant instituted by Moses. But the New Covenant will be better for Israel because of its better Mediator --Messiah--The Christ--The Antitype of Moses--Jesus the Head and the Church which is his Body--the Spiritual Seed of Abraham through whom all of God's blessings are about to come upon the natural seed of Abraham.--Gal. 3:29.
Is it not very wonderful that this period is ending now, and that Zionism is blowing its bugle note around the world, calling upon God's chosen people to go up and reclaim the promised land and to hope again for Divine favor? It is more than remarkable. It is in keeping with all of God's dealings with his chosen people. "God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew." "The gifts and callings of God are things he does not repent of." All of his gracious promises which belong to Israel in the flesh must yet be fulfilled to them. True, they are being re-gathered without a knowledge or appreciation of Messiah. But this also is in accord with the Scripture account, which shows that the opening of the eyes of that nation to discern the Redeemer will take place in Jerusalem at the time of their return to considerable prosperity, when they will be in the midst of their final struggle with the Gentiles. Then, says the Prophet, "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn." Then will God pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication and acknowledgment of Jesus."--Zech. 12:10.
"The Times of the Gentiles."
Now let us look at the subject from a different angle. Let us note that God through Israel's prophets foretold that the world would be given into the hands of the Gentiles; and that Israel, both natural and spiritual, would be subjugated and more or less oppressed by the Gentiles. And wonderful, too, is the fact that this period of Gentile domination is likewise stated to be "Seven Times." And the wonder increases when we find that these Gentile "Seven Times" began and will end at exactly the same dates which mark the Jewish "Seven Times" of disfavor. This is certainly remarkable to the extent of being astounding. Yet it should not astound us that the God of all Grace would hide or secrete this information in the Bible until about the time of its accomplishment, and then make it known only to those, both Jews and Gentiles, who have "a hearing ear" and who "hunger and thirst after righteousness."
[OV82]
Now for the prophecies. King Nebuchadnezzar's army overturned the Jewish Kingdom in the days of Zedekiah. As the Scriptures show, this overturning was done by Divine decree. The Jewish prophets tell that God gave Nebuchadnezzar permission to control the world, in very much the same language that the commission was first given to Adam. During the time that God's Kingdom was established in Israel--during the reigns of David and Solomon and others down to Zedekiah's day--it was the only Kingdom recognized by God in the whole earth. As we read, "Solomon sat upon the throne of Jehovah in (the room or) stead of his father, David." (1 Chron. 29:23.) The authorization of Nebuchadnezzar, therefore, paralleled exactly the withdrawal of the Divine favor and the crown from Zedekiah and from Israel, the holy nation. Following this, Nebuchadnezzar's Government increased and became universal; and it was followed by other Gentile Governments exercising universal power-- the Medes and Persians, the Grecians, the Romans. A lease of earthly dominion was made to these Governments, which cover this interim of time from the overthrow of the typical Zedekiah until the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom in 1915.
Two pictures of this period of Gentile domination of the earth are given; first, a picture from the human standpoint; and second, a picture from the Divine standpoint. The view from the human standpoint was given to Nebuchadnezzar by the Lord in a dream which, by Divine power, repeated and interpreted by the Prophet Daniel. (Dan. 2:29-45.) Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great image representing earthly power during this period known as "the times of the Gentiles." His own Government was represented in the head of gold. The universal empire of the Medes and Persians, which followed Nebuchadnezzar, was symbolized in the arms and breast of silver. The universal rule of Greece under Alexander the Great was symbolized in the belly and thighs of brass. The Roman empire was pictured in the legs of iron. The entire arrangement made it possible that if Israel had accepted Jesus as King, the Messianic Kingdom might have been established there. But foreseeing that Israel would fail in the day of her visitation, God pictured the extension of Gentile supremacy in the feet of the image, which from iron gradually merged into a combination of iron and clay, dividing into ten toes. The commingling of the iron and clay represented that blending of Church and State known as the Holy Roman Empire. This commingling of civil and religious authority amongst the nations in the exercise of Gentile rule still continues; and to-day we have the division of the nations known as Christendom, Protestant and Catholic, as represented by the toes of the image.
The image has stood nearly as long as was Divinely intended--seven symbolic times or years--2520 literal years, expiring in October, 1914. What will happen then? Let the same prophecy continue to tell its story to a consummation. It tells that the glorious image of autocracy and worldly empire, which God has permitted to be in the hands of the Gentiles, will fall a mass of ruins at the end of the Gentile times--in 1915 A.D. It tells that the God of Heaven, who gave over the dominion of earth for "Seven Times" to the Gentile governments of this image, purposes that at the close of those "Seven Times" he will wipe them out of existence. During the period of their domination, under Divine guidance, a Stone has been cut out of the mountain, without human hands, without human authority or power. That stone is the Church of which Jesus is the Head and the Apostle and all the saints of this age of every denomination are members. The cutting of it out will soon be completed. That Stone represents Messiah on the larger plane, Jesus the Head and the Church His body; for we are all members in particular of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Not until the Church shall have been completed, not until the last member shall have been changed from earthly to heavenly conditions; not until the glorified Christ shall have taken unto himself His great power to reign; and not until the end of Gentile times, will this heavenly power be hurled against the image. It will not strike the image in its head or breast or loins or legs; for these have passed long ago. It will smite the image [OV83] on its feet--its present development-- "Christendom" so-called. That impact is prominently noted throughout the Scriptures as "a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation." The Scriptures give vivid pictures of the Gentile Governments in the world, then "the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron and the clay, became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away and no place was found for them.--Dan. 2:35.
Such is the graphic description given us of the end of Gentile Governments, in which to-day many of us take such pride, and which have their good intentions and good qualities. But these also, be it remembered, were recognized and authorized by God to occupy the seat of Government and to hold in check human affairs--"until he comes whose right the Kingdom is," and to whom it will be given--The Christ --the Head and the Elect Church his members; the Kingdom for which we pray, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven"-- the Millennial Kingdom, which is to bless all the families of the earth through the channel or medium of Israel--God's chosen people.
Great Ravenous Beasts.
We have intimated that Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image represented autocracy and world sovereignty from the human viewpoint of grandeur. We now come to examine the same governments as seen from the Divine viewpoint. How different! Now, instead of appearing great, noble and wise, these are pictured as ravenous wild beasts, which tread down and devour the earth. In this picture, which was given to Daniel for himself and for all of God's people, the symbolisms are these:
(1) Babylonia, the head of the image, is symbolized by a lion;
(2) Medo-Persia, the breast and arms of the image, is symbolized by a bear;
(3) Greece, the belly and thighs of brass in the image, is here symbolized by a leopard;
(4) Rome, the iron legs of the image, is here pictured as a great and terrible beast, for which no name could be found, and the like of which had never been known in the earth before. "It brake in pieces and devoured" everything. Nothing could withstand its power. How wonderful a figure, illustrative of the ferocity which has marked the kings and Governments and wars of these Gentile times!
(5) The feet and toes of the image, representing the Papacy and the commingling of State and Church domination, we find pictured in the ten horns of the terrible beast.
These beasts are to rule the world until the end of Gentile times of world domination, October, 1914, which will also be the end of the Jewish times of Divine disfavor. Then the dominion will pass from these beasts, and their bodies or organizations as Governments will be given to the burning flame--turned over to destruction. The Prophet pictures the end of Gentile times and the manifestation of the Ancient of Days, whose throne was like a fiery flame and who caused the judgment to sit. It was at that time that the words of the last beast came into judgment --the great words uttered by the horn that had eyes and a mouth and that spake great, swelling words,--claimed by nearly all expositors of the past to represent Papacy and its boast of infallibility, etc. Then the beast was slain--the great and terrible beast, and his body was given to the burning flames. This is still future and therefore prophetic, and we may not too positively declare how it will be fulfilled. Apparently it signifies the overturn of the civil and religious systems of our day, especially of Europe. It seems to symbolize the destruction of all earthly government and authority. This would mean anarchy, the most terrible curse upon society imaginable.
Then it was that Daniel was given a vision of the Son of man in glory, receiving the authority of the dominion of earth. "And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." --Dan. 7:14.
[OV84]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
V. The Jubilee of Restoration
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
GOD GAVE his chosen people two distinct sets of Sabbaths or rests. Not only was the seventh day appointed to them for resting from earthly toil as profitable to their physical well being, but additionally those Sabbath days were types, which pointed forward to a future rest of heart and mind. At the beginning of each year a cycle was marked--7 x 7 days. Following this multiple, early in the ecclesiastical year, after the passover and the waving of the "sheaf of first fruits," which typified our Lord's resurrection to the heavenly plane, came the fiftieth day. On this day there came a great blessing to all of the Children of Israel who were in the proper condition of heart. It typified the beginning of the real rest of heart and mind which was thus foreshown. It was participated in by all the chosen people who were in heart readiness and who accepted Jesus as Messiah. Subsequently, after all of the saintly ones of the chosen people had entered thus into a rest or Sabbath keeping in their hearts, the door to this privilege was opened to a similar class from amongst the Gentiles. This rest of mind and heart, typified in the Pentecostal day and its blessings, was but the earnest or foretaste of a still greater blessing and rest to be entered into by the faithful at the end of the race set before them. --Heb. 12:1.
But the chosen people had not merely day Sabbaths. They had also year Sabbaths; for every seventh year was a Sabbatic year. And these Sabbatic years had a cycle similar to that of the Sabbath days. Seven times seven years brought them to the fiftieth year, which was a special Sabbatic year, just as the fiftieth day was a special Sabbatic day. As the Sabbath days could be observed by the chosen people anywhere and everywhere, so the rest which they typified may be enjoyed by the consecrated everywhere under all conditions. But the Sabbath years were not so! These could be observed only while in their own land; for these related to that land.--Lev. 25:1-55.
Israel's Jubilee Year.
Undoubtedly the Jubilee year was a wise and beneficent arrangement for God's chosen people by Jehovah, their great King. It was more than merely an economic arrangement for the prevention of the accumulation of property in the hands of the few. It was also typical of the great "Times of Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began."-- Acts 3:19-21.
Let us first examine the Jubilee as a social and financial safety arrangement for the preservation of the rights and interests of the less successful of the people of Israel. Every fiftieth year was to be a jubilee [OV85] year in which property that had been mortgaged or liened for debt would revert to its original owner free from all encumbrance. Similarly, if a family had gotten into straits and not only had lost its homestead but had gone into servitude, in the fiftieth year not only the estate would be free, but all obligations of service would terminate. In the Jubilee year every man returned to his original rights and possessions. Nor was this unjust to anybody. Every one knew in advance that a loan or debt or contract for the property of another could last only to the fiftieth year. Hence all valuation of property and of service rendered was based upon this arrangement, and the valuation was greater in proportion as the Jubilee year was afar off, and less as it drew near. Thus, under Divine arrangement, it was impossible for the land of Israel to get into the hands of great landlords, trusts, etc. The property right inhered in the family.
But Israel did not particularly care for this arrangement, and it gradually fell into disuse. The Almighty did not insist upon its continuance. Its chief value was that of a type pointing forward to a greater time of Restitution, when Adam and all of his children would be permitted to come back from the "land of the enemy," (Jer. 31:16), from the power of the grave and from under the dominion of sin and death--back to harmony with God, to perfection of human nature, to inheritance of the land and all the blessings and rights and privileges which originally belonged to Father Adam. The human family is to come into all these rights and privileges lost in Eden and redeemed at Calvary, when the great Messiah shall come in power and great glory to establish in the earth his Millennial Kingdom. The first to be blessed under that Kingdom arrangement will be God's chosen people; and subsequently, all nations will receive a similar share by coming under the same conditions and participating in Israel's New (Law) Covenant.--Isa. 2:3,4; Zech. 14:16,17.
The Restitution blessings outlined by the prophets include the restoration of Israel to Divine favor, their re-possession and control of Palestine, and the sending forth of the Abrahamic blessings through them to all people. The Restitution will include the bringing of the earth to full perfection, as was symbolically represented in the Garden of Eden. It will include the lifting of humanity out of mental, moral and physical imperfection up, up, up, to the grand heights of human perfection in the image and likeness of the Creator, to the original estate which Father Adam lost and which is to be restored to him. The Millennial Age, the reign of Messiah, will be the anti-typical Jubilee time, in which gladness and rejoicing will come to earth, and come to stay; for all who refuse the gracious privileges and opportunities of that time and do despite to the favor of God knowingly, willingly, intentionally, will be cut off from life in the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery.
Blowing Silver Trumpets.
At the opening of the Jubilee year it became the duty of the priests to blow upon the silver trumpets the note proclaiming "liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." (Lev. 25:9,10.) The bugle note sounded by the priest was repeated everywhere upon ram's horns and everything that would make a joyful sound proclaiming liberty.
Doubtless some of those who heard might have been ready to dispute the correctness of the message, claiming that there was a mistake. Doubtless some who heard the proclamation of liberty were boisterous and extreme in their jubilation and unwise in their conduct. Certainly the Jubilee year in its beginning must have been a time of general tumult and rupture. The holders of the land and the beneficiaries of services rendered may have been slow to surrender them, while those to whom they belonged by Divine right might often have been impatient because of delay and thus become unreasonable in their demands for immediate possession.
We are about to show that the Divine Word teaches that this great anti-typical Jubilee period of one thousand years is already upon us; that we are now in the time when the priests are blowing the silver trumpets--the Truth of God's Word --and when the common people everywhere are waking up and vociferously [OV86] shouting for freedom and for their rights --sometimes unwise in their impatience and rude in their haste. It is right that humanity should enter into all the blessings of this Jubilee period which has been Divinely provided. But Divine Providence should be noted and its leadings should be followed. The people should understand that as surely as it is God's arrangement that the Jubilee Restitution shall be ushered in, so surely it will come to pass; for all of God's purposes shall be accomplished. (Isa. 55:11.) There should be no breathless haste, but a quiet, patient, faithful waiting on Jehovah.
The Lord, however, tells us that many will be impatient; that, as a result, there will come upon the world "a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation," and that the trouble time will serve as the opening of the door to the Jubilee procedure of Restitution. Hear the exhortation of the Prophet, "Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day when I arise to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for the whole earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy," zeal, anger. Nor are we to understand that this will be a literal fire, but terrible trouble causing great distress, for the next verse shows that the people survive the trouble. There we read, "Then will I turn to the people a pure message (the pure Gospel of the Love and the Justice of God) that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."-- Zephaniah 3:8,9.
Echoing the voice of God through the holy Scriptures, we warn all who have an ear to hear this message, that they desist from any attempt to bring in the great Jubilee too hastily. The great leveling of humanity, rich and poor, is coming, and coming speedily, because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The great Jubilee with its restoration of human rights to every child of Adam is already upon us. Blessed will those be who, recognizing the fact, shall most speedily and most heartily join in and co-operate with the Divine arrangement. Let the rich exercise benevolence of heart and rejoice to turn their millions into channels of usefulness for the people, and let them do it speedily, whether along the lines of Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Carnegie, or along other lines of their own choosing. Let them not delay. Let them not think that all things will continue as they have been in the past. The anti-typical Jubilee has come. Its silver trumpet is now sounding in our ears. Already the rabble are clamoring and restless. Scarcely can they be persuaded to bide their time and wait for Divine Providence to give them the promised blessing. Indeed, they know not God; they discern not that this Jubilee is of his provision and is coming in its due time, appointed of the Almighty. They vainly think that they are bringing it to pass themselves; and that they must force the issue and grasp the coveted prize of equal rights, wealth and leisure.
Only in the light of the Scriptures can the peculiar condition of things now at our doors be understood or appreciated. From God's Word comes the soundest of advice. But, alas! the great intellects of the world have discarded the Bible and have gathered to themselves other teachers, who set forth as worldly wisdom, doctrines of Evolution and of the wonderful progress of the race. These doctrines, the Bible tells us, will speedily come to naught, and prove the wisdom of the world's wise men to be foolishness.-- Isa. 29:14,15; 1 Cor. 1:19; Prov. 14:8.
Humility and Righteousness Necessary.
The exhortation of the Bible respecting the present hour is profitable to both rich and poor. But alas! few of either class are in the attitude of mind to hear. The message is, "Seek righteousness; seek meekness: it may be that ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." (Zeph. 2:3.) "Be wise, therefore, ye kings of the earth (including the financial kings.) Kiss the Son (salute, recognize the great King of Glory, whose Millennial Kingdom is at hand with its anti-typical year of Jubilee for Israel and for all the families of the earth) lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his anger is kindled (in the very beginning of this day of anger) but a little" (against you.) --Psalm 2:10-12. [OV87] The Anti-typical Jubilee Begun.
Having shown that the great Jubilee of a thousand years will begin by a terrible time of trouble incidental to the returning of mankind to their long-lost inheritance, we will offer some harmonious prophecies based upon the Jubilee type. These show that the Jubilee chronologically began A.D. 1875. Since then the masses have been struggling for their "rights," sometimes by wise, and at other times by unwise methods. Everywhere the anti-typical ram's horns are being blown and "rights" is the watch-word!
Meantime, capital and vested interests, not realizing that the Jubilee "Times of Restitution" are at hand, are perplexed at the situation, alarmed! Legal talent and all worldly wisdom have been summoned in the endeavor to hold fast every point that has been gained, and to relinquish and restore--nothing! The Times of Restitution shall not come if the Trusts can possibly bar the way. Elated at their success, they believe themselves stronger, more thoroughly entrenched than ever in the control of the money power and of the earth. They hold that everything is purchasable with money--"that every man has his price." The great struggle, the time of trouble, will be precipitated as a result of the extreme confidence entertained by both sides of the question. Organized labor and organized capital, each self-confident, are about to precipitate the most terrible disaster that has ever befallen Christendom--world-wide anarchy. Neither will hear; neither can understand the situation. It remains for such as have the hearing ear to heed the message of God's word, "Seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger."--Zeph. 2:3.
The Mathematical Calculation.
We have already noted the fact that the multiple system applies in connection with the day Sabbaths and the year Sabbaths, culminating in a fiftieth or Jubilee. We hold that this fact furnishes the Divinely intended key to show the date at which the anti-typical Jubilee will be ushered in. It will be the great Jubilee of Jubilees, reached by the same method of counting, 50 x 50 years, or, in all, 2,500 years. The question is, When should we begin the counting of this cycle? The reply is, that where the type ceased to be observed the great cycle began. In other words, God preserved the type until the proper time for the anti-typical cycle to begin to count.
We know that the Hebrew people maintained their Jubilee system very imperfectly and with more or less dissatisfaction until the overthrow of their polity. When Zedekiah's Government was overthrown and the people were taken into captivity for seventy years by Nebuchadnezzar, during this period the typical Jubilee must have ceased, because it could be observed only while in their own land. Prior to that time, although repeatedly delivered into captivity to their enemies, they were never out of their land long enough to prevent the celebration of the Jubilee. And so far as any record shows, the Israelites have never observed a Jubilee year since their return from Babylonish captivity.
Moreover, the Lord, through the Prophet Jeremiah, distinctly tells us that Israel's observance of the Jubilee Sabbath years was unsatisfactory, and that he made desolate their land during those seventy years in order that it might have the full number of Sabbaths, which he had designed, and which the people had selfishly neglected to observe. All of those seventy years of captivity were Jubilee years and the land had rest--none being observed subsequently.
We quote the Scriptures on this subject: "Them that had escaped from the sword he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the Kingdom of Persia: To fulfill the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath to fulfill three score and ten years." (2 Chron. 36:20,21.) Thus we know when the seventy years desolation began; namely, A.D. 606. But how may we determine just when Israel observed their last Jubilee? To answer this question, we must reckon from the time when the Jubilee system of counting began down to 606 B.C., the beginning of the [OV88] captivity, and then divide that total of years by 50. This would show us how many Jubilees Israel had already kept unsatisfactorily; and the remainder would represent the number of years which had elapsed between the last unsatisfactory Jubilee and the carrying into captivity.
The Scriptures distinctly inform us that the counting of the years of Jubilee began when Israel entered Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. There were 6 years from the crossing of Jordan until the division of the land; then a period of judges, 450 years; and a period of kings, 513 years; total 969 years, to the desolation of the land at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. This number, divided by 50, would show that 19 Jubilees had passed, and that the last one occurred 19 years before the captivity. Understanding that where the type ceased, the anti-typical cycle began to count, we add thus: 19 years from the 19th Jubilee to the desolation; 70 years of desolation; from then until A.D. 1, 536 years; from A.D. 1 to A.D. 1874; the total would be the sum of 19, 70, 536 and 1874, namely 2499 years. As the Jubilee of Jubilees would come in the 2500th year, it follows that the year 1875 would correspond to that year. Since the anti-type, however, was not to be one year, but a thousand years, we understand that it was the thousand-year Jubilee which began in 1875. This seems comparatively strong and clear as a Scriptural argument, and certainly comports well with the facts of history, and is just what we should expect in this day of blowing the anti-typical trumpet and general commotion on the part of those desirous of getting quickly into their Jubilee rights.
The Jubilees According to Prophecy.
The Law sets things forth exactly as they should be. The great cycle, 50 x 50-- 2500 years--should begin just where the typical Jubilee ceased, as we have just seen. But prophecy shows matters from another standpoint; it foretells matters just as they will occur. Thus, through the Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord informs us that the total number of Jubilees would be seventy. The total number may thus be counted in two different ways. We have seen that nineteen Jubilees were observed unsatisfactorily. These, deducted from 70, would leave 51 of the 7 x 7 cycles to be fulfilled. But since the Jubilees were not observed, these cycles only, without the 50th year, should be counted, and these were 49 years each. 51 x 49, or 2499 years, would therefore represent 51 cycles without Jubilees; and as there were 19 cycles with Jubilees, this would make 19 x 50--950 years. Thus we have the full 70 cycles shown; and 2499 plus 950--3449 --which is the number of years from their first Jubilee on entering Canaan, to the close of the year 1874 A.D. So we reach the same date as by the Law method of counting.
The whole world, as well as Israel, has an interest in the Jubilee and its "Restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets." (Acts 3:20.) But to Israel the Restitution blessings will come first, after the stress of the great time of trouble, in which the chosen people will have their share--"the time of Jacob's trouble." The Millennial blessings will begin with Israel. Their law-givers will be restored as at the first, and their judges as at the beginning. (Isaiah 1:26.) The Lord will assume the guidance and control and blessing and uplifting and restitution of all the willing and obedient--to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.--Romans 11:25-31; 1:16.
THE beam that shines from Zion's hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem's tow'rs
Shall all the world command.
[OV89]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
VI--Israel's New Covenant
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE CHOSEN PEOPLE look back to the great Covenant which God made with Abraham, their progenitor--the Covenant confirmed by Almighty God with an oath that his people might have full assurance in respect to its ultimate fulfillment. But Israel recognized that, incidental to the blessing of the world, the Divine Law must be established and mankind must be blessed legally. Hence they point back to Moses and the Covenant which God made with their nation through him. True, there were disappointments connected with that Law Covenant. As a people they had expected much more from it than they ever obtained. They had expected that by obedience to its requirements they themselves would become possessors of everlasting life. They expected additionally that Jehovah God would then use their nation for the blessing of other nations by bringing all the world of mankind under the dominion of the Law of God, that the whole world might receive blessing, restitution and everlasting life through that Law Covenant.
Notwithstanding their great disappointment in that they did not gain eternal life themselves--nor national exaltation --they still maintained a hold upon that Covenant and trusted for its blessings yet to come.
When in their perplexity they cried to the Lord for relief and for explanation why the blessings hoped for did not come, they received answer from him through the prophets that before those promised favors could be fulfilled, the great Messiah must come. He would be a great Teacher and Ruler like unto Moses, but much more powerful. He would embody in himself all the qualities of Judge, Priest, Mediator, Law-giver and King. Under his superintendence Israel would yet be blessed and become the channel of Divine blessing to every nation. Moses foretold this greater Prophet, saying, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:22,23; Deut. 18:15,19.) Hence the hearts of Israel waited for the Messianic Priest and Kingly Mediator who would do for them abundantly more than Moses had been able to accomplish, though they had profited much through the ministry of their great Law-giver. This antitypical Moses, Messiah, is referred to by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in."--Malachi 3:1. [OV90] A New Mediator.
This sending of the New Mediator implied a New Covenant, or at least a renewal of the Law Covenant under the more efficient Mediator--Messiah. This renewal of the Sinaitic Covenant at the hands of Messiah, the superior Mediator and Helper of the chosen people, is specially referred to in Jeremiah 31. This Prophet was the one through whom the Lord prophetically speaks as though in our day, at the close of Israel's long period of exile from Divine favor. The time is indicated by the words of verses 28-29, which read: "It shall come to pass that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, "The fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge, but every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."
This preface was sufficiently explicit! It indicated, not any period in the past of Israel's history, but the period that is immediately at hand, about to be inaugurated. The "sour grapes" refer to the evil influences of heredity--to the fact that the sins of the parents have influenced and affected the children of all humanity, so that all are sinners in fact, regardless of their intention; for we were all "shapen in iniquity; in sin did our mothers conceive us." (Psalm 51:5.) But the great time of dispensational change is at hand. This condition of heredity shall no longer prevail against the race. Instead of falling further, the rising up, the restitution, shall begin, and only those who willingly and wilfully and knowingly transgress the Divine Law shall be held responsible, and receive the penalty of sin, "Dying, thou shalt die."
These prefatory words sufficiently introduce the main feature of this message respecting the New Covenant. We read, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah; not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my Covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity and will remember their sin no more."-- Jer. 31:31-34.
The superiority of this New Covenant to the old one is clearly indicated. The old one was written merely on tables of stone. The new one the Lord will cause to be gradually written in the hearts of all who come under the beneficent influences of his Kingdom. The old Law needed to be impressed upon them continually, every Sabbath day and oftener; but the New Law would not need to be referred to; for all would know it, since it would be written in the heart and conscience of all, from the least to the greatest. The Old Law Covenant under Moses as Mediator needed to be revived by a repetition of its sacrifices of bulls and goats every year, in order to cleanse away the sins of the people and to bring them Divine forgiveness for another year. But the New Law Covenant would be exceedingly better in that, by better sacrifices, it would forever do away with the necessity of the yearly repetition of Atonement Day. The sins and iniquities of the people would then be so thoroughly eradicated as to need no further sacrificing.
Waiting for the Great Mediator.
For more than three thousand years Israel has waited for its better Mediator-- waited and hoped and prayed. Thank God! we can now proclaim that his advent is nigh at hand; that his power and glory and honor and dignity will be all that they have ever expected--and much more. But he will be a spiritual Mediator, invisible to men. His power and glory will be seen on earth only through their [OV91] operation as he shall cast down the unfit and lift up the worthy, the down-trodden. This great Mediator will take to himself his great power and reign, as soon as the time appointed by Jehovah shall have arrived. And we have reason to believe that the time of his establishment of his Empire on earth will be at the close of Israel's Seven Times of disfavor, during or shortly after A.D. 1915, in or just after the great time of world-wide trouble which will then be upon the earth.
This great Priest referred to in the Scriptures "the King of Glory," will be as invisible to men as is the Prince of Darkness, Satan, whom the Scriptures recognize as being now the "Prince of this World." In connection with the time of trouble, the Prince of Glory will bind the Prince of Darkness, restraining him from every power to further deceive mankind throughout the glorious Millennial period which will then be inaugurated. And of course this great spiritual King must have earthly representatives and agents amongst men, even as the Prince of Darkness has used sons of Belial as his servants --many of them unwittingly, ignorantly, serving him. But the Prince of Life will use only the pure, the holy, the reverent, the godly. And none of his servants will be under restraints of ignorance or bonds of superstition. On the contrary, the righteous will then flourish and the evil-doers shall be cut off.--Proverbs 11:28; Psalms 37:9.
God has already made selection of those wonderful personages who shall represent Messiah to Israel and to the world. They were selected long ago according to their trials of faith and obedience and patient endurance for righteousness' sake. They are a noble band. They are all Hebrews-- select members of the chosen people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and all the prophets, besides others too numerous to mention, who through trying ordeals of faith and patience and loyalty demonstrated their love for righteousness, for Truth and for God. These are worthy. These are God's "elect" for this great purpose. Nor will it serve the Divine purpose that these should be awakened from the tomb in the condition in which they went down into death. Nay, by their faithfulness under trying conditions they proved to the Divine satisfaction their loyalty to the core. And their reward shall be that they will come forth from the tomb under more favorable conditions than do their fellows. They will come forth perfect in mind and in body, glorious specimens of perfect manhood, such as God approves. They will be examples to Israel and to all the nations of what each member of Adam's race may attain if he will be obedient to the terms of the Covenant.
The Advantages of the New Covenant.
We have already indicated some of the advantages of the New Covenant. For a thousand years the great Mediator will stand between Divine Justice and Israel to give to all the willing and obedient the blessings of Divine favor--blessings of which they would not be worthy themselves, because imperfect through the fall --blessings intended in God's Providence to afford them the opportunity of gradually rising up, up, up, to the full perfection of manhood in the likeness of the Ancient Worthies, their instructors and guides, the representatives of Messiah amongst men. Ah, that will be a glorious day for the chosen people! All that they ever dreamed of, and far more, will be their glorious portion. Nor will these wonderful privileges be theirs alone, for, although the Covenant will be made with Israel, the privilege of coming into that Covenant relationship with God will be extended to all nations, permitting all to become Israelites, through faith, through obedience to that Law of the New Covenant.
The difficulty with the Mosaic Covenant was that Moses, in important respects, was incompetent as a Mediator. But Messiah will be far more competent to carry out the requirements of the office of Mediator, and will succeed in the great work which Moses undertook but in which he failed. Moses' work at very most, however, was typical of the perfect work of the Messiah-Mediator. The basis of God's arrangement with Israel to be his Covenant people was the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement --the blood of bulls and goats. But these at most made satisfaction for only a year. Messiah as the more competent Mediator, in a greater Day of Atonement, [OV92] has offered more acceptable sacrifices to the Father which can and do effect a cancellation of sin for all time and for all people who will come under his New Covenant arrangement.
Is it asked how the New Covenant will go into effect with those who are under the Sinaitic Covenant? We answer that the Law feature in both cases is the same; but that the difference between the old Law Covenant and the New (Law) Covenant will be merely the substitution of the new Mediator and his more efficient work for Moses and his typical, insufficient work. The chosen people have had some sad experiences while waiting for the great Messiah-Mediator of their New Covenant. But the glorious results will more than compensate for all disappointments in respect to the delay. Instead of merely living as a nation under Divine favor for a few years and then lapsing into death, as under the Law Covenant, they will, under the arrangements of the New Covenant, obtain life eternal and full human perfection, in which it will be possible for them absolutely and continuously to have approval of the Divine Law.
More than this, their mission as the agents of God under the New Covenant, for the blessing of all the Gentiles, will mean the bringing of the Gentiles up to the same glorious standards of human perfection and eternal life under the blessed arrangement of the Messiah-Mediator. Surely, then, all who love the Divine promises to the chosen people and the New Covenant through which those promises will be fulfilled, may well pray, O Lord, thy Kingdom come! Messiah, come quickly! End the reign of sin and death! Exalt thy chosen people and bless all the families of the earth!
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
WHEN the morning paints the skies,
And the birds their songs renew,
Let me from my slumbers rise,
Saying, "What would Jesus do?"
When I ply my daily task,
And the round of toil pursue,
Let me every moment ask,
"What would Jesus do?"
Would the foe my heart beguile,
Whispering thoughts and words untrue?
Let me to his subtlest wile
Answer, "What would Jesus do?"
Countless mercies from above
Day by day my pathway strew,
Father, I would prove my love
Asking, "What would Jesus do?"
Ever let Thy love, O God,
Fill my spirit through and through,
While I tread where He hath trod,
Whispering, "What would Jesus do?"
[OV93]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
VII. The Passover of the First-Borns
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
A MEMORIAL of first rank with the Israelites is the Passover. It celebrates one of the most momentous chapters in their history. It stands at the beginning of their ecclesiastical year, as the Day of Atonement stands near the beginning of their civil year. It is associated with their national birth. The Scriptures declare that God at that particular time had brought to the throne of Egypt a Pharaoh of indomitable will. The Scriptures declare that whereas other persons might have been in line for the throne, God specially favored this man's attaining it in order that through his natural stiffneckedness and obstinacy Divine power might be manifested in one after another of the plagues which his course would make necessary and proper. We read, "For this very purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show forth my power in thee." (Ex. 9:16.) The ten plagues sent upon the Egyptians were manifestations of Divine Justice in opposition to their unjust treatment of God's Chosen People. The last of the ten stands related to our subject, The Passover.
The edict sent forth was that all of the first-born of the Egyptians should die, and that the first-born of the Israelites should not die. And the Chosen People residing in Egypt were directed to take special steps whereby to mark themselves as separate and distinct from the Egyptians. They were to take for each family a lamb without blemish and bring it into the house on the tenth day of the first month. They were to cherish it and care for it until the fourteenth day, and then to slay it. Its blood was to be sprinkled on the outside doorpost and lintels while its flesh was to be roasted in the fire without a bone of it being broken. It was to be eaten in the night of the fourteenth with bitter herbs and with unleavened bread. On the morrow, in the strength of this food, they were to march forth out of Egypt to go to the Land of Promise for an inheritance under the Covenant made with Abraham.
The Destroying Angel Passed Over.
The results were as the Lord by the mouth of Moses had foretold. The first-borns of the Egyptians died in that night, but the first-borns of the Chosen People were passed over or spared. This notable miracle was memorialized by Divine direction, and every year at the appropriate season a lamb was taken on the tenth day into each of the houses of the Israelites, one for each family or group. All leaven was put away from their dwellings. Everything representing corruption was burned, and unleavened bread alone was eaten with the lamb. The annual celebration of the Passover was for eight days, the first and the eighth day being high days, or to be specially commemorated. On the occasion of our recent visit to Jerusalem we gauged the time so as to be present in Jerusalem at the Passover season, knowing that it is not only the oldest Jewish institution, but the most joyous festival of the Chosen People. It celebrates one of the earliest manifestations [OV94] of Divine favor toward them, and reminds them of the prophecies which declare that at some future time God will manifest himself in their favor still more markedly; as it is written, "It shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but, The Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel from the land of the North, and from all the lands whither he had driven them." (Jer. 16:14,15.) Again, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my Covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord." (Jer. 31:31,32.) The intimation here again is that this deliverance from Egypt at the Passover time, the most notable event in the past history of the Chosen People, will be cast entirely into the shade when the due time shall come for establishing with Israel the New Covenant--old in respect to the Law and the Divine requirements, but new in the sense that it will be based upon better sacrifices and have a better Mediator, able to do for Israel exceedingly better things than Moses, the Mediator of the Sinai Covenant, was able to accomplish--noble as he was in his every endeavor to serve the people as their Mediator. It is of this better Mediator and the better Covenant which he would accomplish for them that Moses spoke, saying, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me (but greater--antitypical of me); him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."-- Acts 3:22,23; Deut. 18:15.
The Passover at Jerusalem.
On the eve of the Passover, every Jewish family was in preparation for it. As the tenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar had passed before our arrival, we did not witness the selection of the lambs for the families. The lambs had already been taken into the homes. We were in time, however, to note the various preparations for the feast. Each householder cleaned house for the occasion and searched every nook and corner for old bones or anything decaying and malodorous, and everything of food containing any corruption; and all such refuse was burned. Not only so, but after the actual cleansing had taken place a ritualistic or formal procedure was practiced. The head of the family, with a lighted candle, followed by the members of the household, made an inspection of the entire house.
The killing and roasting of the lamb was quite a procedure. A stick was run through the entire length of the animal and also another stick crosswise, was used by some, thus unintentionally giving the suggestion of a cross, for nothing is at present further from the minds of the Chosen People than that their lamb represents Jesus, the Crucified One.
The family gathered around the common dish, and while many now use knives and forks and spoons, others of the people seem to preserve the custom of early times and use their fingers to a considerable extent. Some had the modern matzos, but very many appeared to use the old style of unleavened bread, which more resembles thick pancakes. These are rather tough and pliable. One of them bent in the fingers serves fairly well as a spoon, which is consumed in the usage, sometimes being saturated in the juices for a specially tasty bite. The eating is supposed to be done in the manner to remind one of the original occasion, when the Israelites ate with their outer garments on, ready for immediate departure for the Land of Promise. In every family the householder, as directed by Moses, explained to the family the meaning of the feast--its origin as connected with the beginning of the Jewish national life. This eating of the lamb, according to the Law belonged to the fourteenth day of the first month. Following it on the fifteenth day began the festival of rejoicing celebrating the grand deliverance from the power of Pharaoh and the Red Sea. It was not our privilege to continue in Jerusalem for the eight days. But the first great day of the feast certainly saw [OV95] the Holy City at the time of its greatest exhilaration.
Not only was the occasion one of special interest to the Jews who constituted a majority of the population, but likewise it was a time of general prayer and holiday with the Greek and Armenian Christians and the Mohammedans who together constitute a considerable proportion of the population. The old Christian communions still celebrate the date of our Lord's death and resurrection, after the manner of the early church, according to the Jewish style of calculation, from which the Roman Catholic and daughter systems slightly departed long centuries ago. This accounts for the fact that this year the Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Lutheran Churches celebrated Good Friday and Easter Sunday--March 25-27-- while the celebration which we witnessed was a month later, April 22-24. We therefore had the pleasure of noting the Greek and Armenian celebration of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The Meaning and Interpretation.
For thirty-five centuries God's Chosen People, obedient to the Divine Direction, have celebrated the memorial "Passover," seeing merely its outward signification and not for a moment realizing the true significance of the grand fact which they celebrate--that it typified a grand feature of the Divine Program of great value to them and to all mankind. The lamb they slew typified "the Lamb of God," Jesus, whose death constitutes the Ransom-Price for the sins of the whole world. His death was necessary before the promise to Abraham and through him to the Chosen People could possibly have fulfillment. A redemption from sin, to be everlastingly efficacious, must be based upon a better sacrifice than the literal lamb repeated annually. It was not only necessary that Jesus become a man in order to give his life a sacrifice for mankind (Adam and his race), but it was necessary, additionally, that having finished the sacrificing work he should ascend up on High to Jehovah's right hand, to be the Spiritual Messiah, who in due time will accomplish for the Chosen people all the gracious promises made to them in the Covenant with Abraham, in which they trust, and in harmony with which they will be used of the Lord in conveying His blessings to all nations, peoples and tongues. A sin-condemnation was on the world--"The wages of sin is death." Man's penalty must be met before this condemnation of death could be fully and forever set aside--before man could be entirely and forever lifted out of death conditions back to eternal life and into harmony with his Creator.
In harmony with the Divine arrangement, Jesus first offered himself to Israel as their King. But Israel saw not how he could be their Messiah, because he had neither wealth nor armies nor influential friends: they disdained him as a deceiver. When he declared himself the Son of God and their Deliverer, they thought him an impostor and blasphemer, and worthy of death. After sentencing him in their own Sanhedrin Court, not having the authority to execute him themselves, they charged him with the only crime which the Roman Governor would hear--treason to the Roman Emperor. By threatening Pilate that they would associate him with Jesus in treason, they finally effected the crucifixion of the Antitypical Passover Lamb. He was stretched upon the cross much after the manner in which they impaled their Passover lamb for its roasting.
"On the Tenth of the First Month."
Additionally, let us note the fact that just at the appropriate time, namely, the tenth day of the first month, when the Chosen People were taking up their lambs for the Passover, Jesus presented himself as the Lamb of God, and was rejected. His presentation was on the exact day and in exactly the manner prescribed by the Prophet Zechariah, "Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass ...He shall speak peace unto the heathen; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth." (Zechariah 9:9,10.) This was fulfilled to the very letter, as we have already seen. It was fulfilled as the Prophet foretold, on the very day that Israel's "double" of experiences began. The Chosen People were blinded with self-satisfaction and repudiated the lowly King and refused to accept him as their Lamb and to receive him into their [OV96] hearts and homes. Nevertheless, he proceeded to fulfill this wonderful type. As the antitypical Passover Lamb, he died on the fourteenth day, exactly in accord with the type.
Forthwith, some of the Chosen People received a great blessing through him-- the Apostles of Jesus and others of the people whose hearts were in a humble, obedient and faithful condition. These fed upon the Lamb and the unleavened bread of God's Grace through him. These recognized the blood of Jesus as sprinkled upon the door-posts and the lintels of the hearts of the "household of faith." These, very shortly afterward, were enabled to celebrate, and they still commemorate, the death of the Lamb of God as being the foundation for all their hopes and joys and blessings. These have therefore a continual season of refreshing in the favor of the Lord, whether they be poor or rich, whether their honors be many or few as respects earthly things. These were recognized by the Father on the fiftieth day after Jesus became by resurrection "the Sheaf of the first fruits"--on the Day of Pentecost. He received them to a higher plane, begetting them of the Holy Spirit and engaging with them that if faithful in following in the footsteps of Jesus, they may be sharers with the Lamb of God in his great triumph and Spiritual Kingdom, through which the earthly blessings will very shortly begin to come to God's Chosen People--Israel.
Not only will Messiah be King of the Jews, but, as the prophecy of Zechariah declares, "His Kingdom shall be from sea to sea (world-wide.) All nations shall recognize his power and glory, and unto him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, to the glory of Jehovah. Israel will receive the glorious Messiah promised to them, when in power and great glory he shall be revealed in the end of this age. They, meantime, will have missed (except the remnant of Isaiah 10:21-23) the honor offered to them first of constituting his Spiritual Bride. (Psalm 45:9-14.) But, then, God foreknew and through the Prophets foretold this. (Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 1:9.) And, anyway, Jehovah kept hidden the fact that Messiah's Kingdom would be a spiritual one. Not one promise of a Spiritual Messiah was given either in the Law or the Prophets. Every promise from Genesis to Malachi is earthly. Even to Abraham the promise reads, "All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed after thee." Israel has not lost this promise. Not only are the Chosen People represented in the Spiritual Seed of Abraham most prominently, but now shortly Abraham and all their faithful prophets are to be made "Princes (rulers) in all the earth." (Psalm 45:16) --then the seed of Abraham will be uplifted and made the channel of Divine blessings to all peoples. "God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew." He is about to fulfill to them every good promise under his New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31 --under its greater Mediator and grander antitypical priesthood symbolized by Melchizedek (Psa. 110:4) and foretold by Malachi 3:1-3.
Like Unto Moses, but Greater.
According to Jehovah's Plan, the Messianic King will stand as Mediator between God and Israel--as the antitype of Moses--the antitypical Priest, King, Messiah, long-promised. The fact that he will not be in the flesh, but a spiritual Messiah, instead of decreasing his glory and power, will augment them. Earthly glory the Israelites will have--earthly blessings beyond their fondest dreams, from the hand of him whom Jehovah has highly exalted as "the Son of David the King of Israel." Thus from Israel, under the New Covenant through Israel's Mediator, a way of approach to God will be opened up for all the Gentiles. Thus it is written, "Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the Mountain (Kingdom) of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion (the Spiritual Kingdom) shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (the earthly Kingdom of Israel restored.) (Isaiah 2:3.) And it shall come to pass that the nation that will not thus recognize Jerusalem as the Government of God then and there established--upon that same nation there shall be no rain (no special blessing.)--Isaiah 2:3.
Notice how this item respecting the blessing of the Gentiles is mentioned by [OV97] the Prophet Zechariah. We read: "Messiah shall speak peace to the Gentiles." But this blessing of peace will come primarily to God's Chosen People and proceed through them to the Gentiles. Not only so, but the same holds good in respect to the selection of Spiritual Israelites. We have already noticed how some of the Chosen People, a "remnant," as the Prophet declares, were ready for Messiah and did receive Jesus and received the Pentecostal blessing.
These, as we have noted, were the Apostles of the Christian Church and the earliest representatives of the same; but after giving the first opportunity for the spiritual blessings to the Chosen People, Messiah favored and spoke peace also to the Gentiles in respect to the Spiritual Seed of Abraham. And so the Gospel of Grace, or invitation to become members or associates with Messiah on the spirit plane, has been, in God's Providence, extended to the Gentiles throughout this Gospel Age--to whomsoever of them has had the hearing ear and the understanding and obedient heart. Thus of both Jews and Gentiles Jehovah has been selecting worthy individuals for association with his Son, the Redeemer. These are but a "little flock" out of nominal millions. To this "little flock" the Redeemer said, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom"--the Kingdom that is to bless Israel, and, through Israel, to speak peace to all Gentiles--to every member of Adam's race--to afford all a full opportunity of return from sin and death conditions to harmony with God and everlasting life.
Ah, yes, there are precious lessons and blessings in the Passover type, and in its antitype, for God's Chosen People, when God's due time shall come. He declares that the condition of blindness and being outcast from his favor which has prevailed with the Chosen People for more than eighteen centuries is not to prevail forever, but merely until he shall have gathered, first from Israel, and subsequently from the Gentiles, his "elect" associates on the spirit plane. Then all Israel shall be recovered from this blindness, and blessings shall come to them in abundant measure. Their casting off and blinding as a nation are intended of God to work out for them a national blessing. Under adverse conditions they have been held together as a people condemned as a whole, that they might receive mercy as a whole.--Romans 25:30-32.
"The Church of the First-Born."
Be it remembered that not all of the Israelites were in danger that night in which the Passover lamb was eaten--only the first-born of the Chosen People were passed over. A little later, God exchanged the first-born of every family for an entire tribe--the tribe of Levi. Hence that one tribe thereafter represented those saved by the passing over of the destroying angel--saved by the blood of the lamb and the eating of its flesh with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.
Two types blend in this:
(1) The spiritual Israelites to whom we have already referred constitute the primary type: Of these the glorified Messiah is the great High Priest--the antitype of Aaron who sacrificed, and of Melchizedek, who sat a priest upon his throne. Aaron's sons typified the saintly few who, through evil report and good report, have followed their Master in sacrifice faithfully unto death. As we have seen, the first of these were called out from God's Chosen People. When not a sufficient number of these were ready, the remainder were accepted from among the Gentiles, because these were actuated by the faith and obedience of Abraham.
(2) Additionally, there is a class of faithful but less zealous followers of Jesus who have done noble work of service, but have failed to some extent of the proper sacrificing spirit. These, who correspond to the Levites, are similarly called from both Jews and Gentiles.
Unitedly these two classes, typed in the Priests and Levites, constitute "the church of the first-borns whose names are written in heaven." They are "a kind of first-fruits unto God of his creatures." (James 1:18.) These, together, selected primarily from God's Chosen People and secondly from the Gentiles, were typified in the first-born of Israel who were passed over in that night, when the first-born of Egypt were slain. Thus we see that this Gospel Age, from the time of the first Advent [OV98] of Jesus to the time of the setting up of the Messianic Kingdom, is the nighttime when darkness covers the earth (the civilized earth) and gross darkness the heathen. The blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), is sprinkled upon the door-post by the household of faith and they are under its protection and may share in the unleavened bread of Truth, and in the strength and blessing freely provided by the Sacrifice and accepted and incorporated by the believer.
After-Borns as Well as First-Borns.
A great mistake has been made by many of us in the past in supposing that only the first-born passed over by God's Providence--passed from death unto life --during this Gospel night, are to be saved. A glance at the picture or type given to us through God's Chosen People in their Passover shows us clearly to the contrary. Instead of the first-born of Israel being the only saved ones, the narrative shows that following the dark night came a morning of blessing and joy and going forth from bondage--not merely for the first-born, but for all Israel. As in the type the first-born became the Priests and Levites, the religious leaders of the people out of darkness and slavery into emancipation and light, so the Church of Messiah, elected during this Gospel Age from Jews and Gentiles, will lead forth Israel--all the tribes of God's Chosen People, from the power of Sin and Death, in due time--in the morning of the New Dispensation, the Messianic Kingdom. Moses, who led forth God's Chosen People in type represented this great Messiah on the spirit plane, who will shortly lead forth his people Israel and grant to them all the blessings and privileges and favors included in the Abrahamic promise--and more, doubtless, than we have yet appreciated.
The fact that only God's Chosen People were delivered from Egyptian bondage --that only they crossed the Red Sea dry shod--that only they had the special Divine providences of the Wilderness, should not be understood to signify that the Messiah will bless the natural seed of Abraham only. The blessing will come first to God's Chosen People, who for the fathers' sakes are beloved still and who are to be brought into Covenant relationship with God. Other nations are not included in the type because in order to come into fellowship and relationship with God through the great Mediator, the Messiah, they will needs become citizens of Zion, members of God's Chosen People.
This may astonish some noble Christian people, some well-versed Bible students, because many of these have evidently overlooked certain features of the Divine Promise respecting the New Covenant. That Covenant, we are distinctly told, is to be made between God and His Chosen People, and not with any other nation. And thus it will be that according to God's Covenant and oath to Abraham, "All the families of earth shall be blessed" through Israel. The making of the New Law Covenant with Israel will bless the other nations because the opportunity will be granted to every nation and people to come under the terms of that New (Law) Covenant mediated by the Greater than Moses. To come under that Covenant will mean a full subordination to the Divine Law as expressed in the Law of Moses and the high interpretation of the same--Love the fulfilling of the Law.
The Great Messiah, who will thus bless God's Chosen People first, will be pleased to serve all nations and peoples as they shall prove willing to accept his favors and to conform to the Divine Laws. Thus all nations will gradually become of the seed of Abraham during Messiah's reign. And thus in the end of Messiah's reign, the promise of God to Abraham will have fulfillment. "Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea for multitude." Here the two seeds are clearly set forth--(1) The Spiritual or Messianic Seed, the Antitypical Priests and Levites on the spirit plane, symbolized by the stars. (2) Israel absorbing the obedience of all the nations of earth through Messiah's mediation of the New Covenant will swell the seed of Abraham until, at the close of Messiah's Kingdom, all mankind will be in and of God's Chosen People; because all who will refuse to hear, to obey that Prophet, Priest and King, Greater than Moses, will be cut off from life in the Second Death--everlasting destruction.
[OV99]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
VIII. Their Sabbath and Jubilee
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE KEEPING of the seventh day in conjunction with the right of circumcision specially marked the Jew, and, in their own estimation, separated them from all other peoples; for to none other did God give either of these institutions. The assumption of Christians that the Sabbath Day was given to them or an obligation to keep it imposed upon them, is a mistake. Nothing in the Word of God warrants it. It is, however, evidently fitting that Christians should observe a weekly day of rest, and very properly custom so has it. And the first day of the week is observed appropriately instead of the seventh, the Jewish Sabbath. The first day of the week is The Lord's Day in the special sense that--
(1) It marks the new order of things as beginning.
(2) As a memorial of the resurrection of the Redeemer it symbolizes all the Christian hopes founded upon the death and resurrection of the Savior.
The Sabbath Day was commanded to the Jew, while no command respecting a day of rest has been given to the Christian. With the latter, the matter was left open and optional, so as to prove a test to their devotion and appreciation of their privileges. The observance of the Sabbath Day on the part of the Jews was not optional, but mandatory, because, like all other features of their Law, it was a type foreshadowing a great antitype. God designed that the type should persist, at least until the antitype arrived.
Jewish System of Sabbaths.
It has not been very generally observed either by Christians or Jews, that Israel's seventh day Sabbath was only one feature of a system of Sabbaths. Seven such Sabbaths, representing forty-nine days, brought them to the fiftieth day or Pentecost, an occasion of special sacredness and blessing. Nor was this all. They had a similar Sabbath system in years. Every seventh year was commanded as a Sabbath year. Following seven of these Sabbath years came the fiftieth year, otherwise known as the Jubilee Year. The basic thought connected with all of these Sabbaths was rest--abstention from labor, the implication being that God would provide an eternal rest. And the thought connected with the Jubilee or Pentecost day and the fiftieth or Jubilee year was that the perfection of rest would be attained therein--not by anything that the Sabbath-keeper himself would accomplish, but by Divine arrangement for his blessing.
God's Chosen People have striven faithfully to observe their Sabbath Day and to ignore the financial losses resulting. But it has been a hard task for them, especially in view of the fact that the Christian Sabbath is generally observed, and that their faithfulness generally signifies the loss of two-sevenths of their time from money-making. Instead of twitting them about their Sabbath, Christians should admire that loyalty to God's command which prompts the orthodox Jew to keep his Sabbath obligations at financial loss. It requires principle to do this, and principle implies character. And loyalty to God should be appreciated and commended wherever it is found.
What a stretch of faith in God's providence was implied in the attempt of God's Chosen People for a time to keep not only the Sabbath Days, but also the Sabbath [OV100] Years--to allow the land to rest absolutely every seventh year; also on the fiftieth year. To have it lie idle two years in succession must have been a trial of patience, as well as of faith. Faithfulness to that command would surely have brought to God's Chosen People a decrease of selfishness and an increase of faith. The lesson persisted in would undoubtedly have had a moulding and transforming influence upon the entire nation. But they did not continue it. In a half-hearted manner they pretended obedience to this Law for 969 years--nineteen Jubilees and nineteen years beyond the last one. Then God declared that their observance of the year Sabbaths and Jubilee was unsatisfactory to him, and He gave them all their Jubilee years at once. Since then they have made no pretense of observing the Jubilee Years and their cycles of 7 x 7 years.
The seventy years desolation of the land of Israel, accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar, fulfilled the entire number of typical Jubilee Years divinely foreordained. As we read, "Therefore He (God) brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age; He gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; ...to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill three score and ten years."-- 2 Chron. 36:17-21.
While Israel's Jubilee Year was a wise arrangement which cancelled all debts and restored all the people to their original inheritance in the land, it would be a mistake to suppose such a restitution, such a release, to be the whole sum of God's provision for the blessing of his people. Wise, generous, beneficial as it was, it was merely a type or foreshadowing of a greater blessing. Its release from debt foreshadowed the release of humanity from the great debt of sin and its penalty of death, respecting which we read that Adam and all of his race were "sold under Sin." (Rom. 7:14)--sold into slavery to Sin and death. The antitypical cancellation of death and release of debtors and slaves signifies the deliverance of all who will be God's people from all the imperfections inherited from Father Adam-- back to full fellowship with God, full liberty of the sons of God and the full enjoyment of life eternal. If the type was glorious and blessed, the antitype will be a thousand times more so, and will bring eternal release from all the weaknesses, imperfections, slaveries to sin and appetite which now hold mankind in bondage. Each time, therefore, that God's Chosen People observed a Jubilee Year they pictured forth on a small scale the blessings to come to them, and through them to all people under the beneficent reign of righteousness of the great Messiah.
The Jubilee Type and Antitype.
We know where the counting of the Sabbath cycles began, namely, when God's Chosen People entered the land of Canaan. The record is that their first year was a Sabbath Year, during which they neither sowed nor reaped, but "ate the old corn of the land." In the above quotation the Lord distinctly tells us that the entire number of Jubilee Years they would have had is seventy. So we can easily count when and where the antitypical Jubilee would be due to begin. Each cycle was forty-nine years, and its Jubilee, the fiftieth year. Seventy times this number would be 3,500 years. And this period measured from the time Israel entered Canaan marks the year 1925 as the time when the antitypical Jubilee will be due to begin.
However, there is still another method of reckoning the matter, which, we believe, is the proper one, namely, to count nineteen cycles with their Jubilees partially observed totaling 950 years, and then to count the remaining fifty-one cycles as forty-nine years each, because the Jubilees were omitted. This would total 2499 [OV101] years plus 950 years with Jubilees totaling 3449 years. This period of 3449 years reckoned from the entering of Canaan ends October, 1874. Thus: Period from entering Canaan to the division of the land, six years. Period of Judges to King Saul, 450 years. Period of the kings, 513 years. Period of desolation while the land kept Sabbath, 70 years. Period from the restoration at the end of the 70 years, by Cyrus, to our date known as Anno Domini, 536 years. Total years of A.D., to complete the above period of 3449 years, 1874 full years, which would end, Jewish time, October, 1874. It was about that time, 1875, that favor began to return to God's Chosen People--of course then, as yet, only in a limited manner and so differently from what many of them had expected it that few of God's Chosen People yet recognize that Divine favor toward them is returning. It is our understanding that the period of time from 1875 to 1915, forty years, will witness the full return of Divine favor to that people.
Foregoing we have outlined the Jubilee reckoning from the standpoint of prophecy, telling how the matter really will work out: a portion of the time with the Jubilees added and a portion of the time without them. Now let us take another view--from the standpoint of the Law. The Law requires that where the typical system ended, the antitypical counting should begin. As the typical Jubilee was reached by multiplying 7 x 7, so we should count 50 x 50 to secure the date of the antitypical Jubilee, the dawn of the glorious epoch. As only nineteen Jubilees were observed even partially, it follows that the cycle for the great Jubilee should begin counting there. 50 x 50 years is 2500 years. This number measured from the last typical Jubilee should bring us to the antitype. The last of the nineteen Jubilees observed was the year 950 from the date of Israel's entering Canaan. The antitypical Jubilee cycle, 2500 years, added to 950 years gives us a total of 3450 years and indicates the year 1875 as its culmination --the place where the antitypical Jubilee should begin--exact harmony, it will be observed, with the preceding testimony on the subject from the standpoint of prophecy. In other words, the Law and the Prophets agree that 1875 A.D. marks an important epoch in the history of God's Chosen People--a time when some great restoration blessing towards them was due to begin.
The Great Antitypical Jubilee.
Some one will say, perhaps, What evidences have we that Israel's Antitypical Jubilee has begun to be fulfilled? We answer that the signs are all about us and rapidly multiplying. The Jubilee is not Israel's only, but the Jubilee of the whole world of mankind--God's Chosen People will merely be the first fruits of the nations to be blessed in that Jubilee period of a thousand years, the spiritual reign of Messiah. Whatever signs we see of general restitution amongst mankind are signs of the Jubilee. We are not to expect anything to happen suddenly. Rather by gradual processes will come to mankind the "times of restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." Such restitution blessings are to be noted in the wonderful inventions which are bringing easement of the burdens of mankind--a measure of deliverance from the grind of necessity. These blessings will continue to bring to God's Chosen People and to the world in conjunction with them blessings of earthly perfection such as the prophets describe, but such as few of humanity dared to believe.
Looking back at the type we remember that the Jubilee year was announced by the priests blowing the Silver Trumpets, proclaiming liberty throughout all the land. We remember that, following the example of the priests, all the people blew on ram's horns and with every other conceivable kind of clarionet. The antitype of this blowing upon the trumpets we have. Ever since 1875 there has been special promulgation of this very message of the Jubilee--blowing on the silver trumpets of Truth, proclaiming the Truth, making known the fact that the time of God's blessing for Israel and for the world is at hand--that the great Antitypical Jubilee period of a thousand years has begun. The spirit of liberty is blowing everywhere and being proclaimed by every kind of couth and uncouth argument and trumpet, newspaper and magazine, world-wide.
[OV102]
The people, the masses, are about to come into possession of their own. Human rights long ignored are rapidly coming back to the masses. There is no more remarkable manifestation of this than in the recent revolutions in Russia and in Turkey, and the gradual socialization of Great Britain and Germany. Well would it be for the world if thus gradually the great antitypical Jubilee would usher in a reign of righteousness and become generally recognized. But other Scriptures show us that this will not be the case-- that beyond a certain point the favored classes will refuse to yield, and beyond a certain point the masses will be unreasonable and hasty in their demands, and that the result will be "a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation."--Dan. 12:1.
But even that period of trouble will prove to be merely a part of the tribulation incidental to the full inauguration of the Jubilee. At that time, the Prophet declares, Messiah will stand forth in power and great glory for the deliverance of Israel first, and subsequently of all the families of the earth from every vestige of bondage, including eventually the bondage of death.
THE WRATH OF GOD
THE wrath of God is love's severity
In curing sin--the zeal of righteousness
In overcoming wrong--the remedy
Of justice for the world's redress.
The wrath of God is punishment for sin,
In measure unto all transgression due,
Discriminating well and just between
Presumptuous sins and sins of lighter hue.
The wrath of God inflicts no needless pain,
Merely vindictive, or Himself to please;
But aims the ends of mercy to attain,
Uproot the evil, and the good increase.
The wrath of God is a consuming fire,
That burns while there is evil to destroy
Or good to purify; nor can expire
Till all things are relieved from sin's alloy.
The wrath of God is love's parental rod,
The disobedient to chastise, subdue,
And bend submissive to the will of God,
That love may reign when all things are made new.
The wrath of God shall never strike in vain,
Nor cease to strike till sin shall be no more;
Till God His gracious purpose shall attain,
And earth to righteousness and peace restore.
[OV103]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
IX--The Great Day of Atonement
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THE JEWISH civil year precedes our calendar about three months. Regulated by lunar time it usually falls near October 1st. And yet they style their first civil month, their seventh month--their first month beginning their religious year at the Spring Equinox. In the Divine arrangement meted out for Israel, religion always stood first. These two beginnings of their year were prominently marked by their two chief religious ceremonies. We have already considered the Passover Memorial celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month: let us now consider the Atonement Day and its sacrifices celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month. Its annual repetition celebrated the inauguration of Israel's Law Covenant by Moses, its Mediator--between God and the people of Israel. But it was more than a commemoration--more than a mere reminder.
The provisions of the Law Covenant were that any person of the seed of Abraham who would keep that Law perfectly would have the Divine favor and blessing to the utmost--including life eternal. But the Almighty, well knowing that it would be impossible for any imperfect being to fulfill the requirements of the Divine Law made provision that the nation might remain in Divine favor from year to year by repetitions yearly of the Atonement Day sacrifices. In the original institution of the Law Covenant, with its sacrifices, the whole nation of Israel in accepting that Covenant came under Divine favor as God's people for a year--and no more. The Covenant would continue, but the justification of the people would not continue. The sacrifices by which the Law Covenant was instituted were the same that were repeated annually thereafter. At the close of the year the Covenant did not cease, but the people were all under special condemnation and Divine disapprobation as sinners until a new Atonement Day made satisfaction for the people's sins and extended the Divine favor toward them for the new year--until the next Atonement Day.
Thus the people of Israel had a trial, a year at a time, continued with them for centuries. But during the entire period of their favor with God, not a single Jew was found able to keep fully the Divine Law--not one was counted worthy of eternal life. Nor could Abraham or anybody else have attained more under the Law Covenant, because imperfect--for the Law is the measure of a perfect man's ability. This manner of continuing sin-forgiveness with annual repentance and repetition of the sacrifices, and the procurement thus of fresh trials for each new year, lasted for sixteen centuries and more, until the miraculous birth of Jesus. His transfer from the heavenly glory produced the one man who could and who did keep the Law perfectly--"The man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom price [OV104] for all, to be evidenced in due time"-- when in the end of this age he shall apply the merit of his sacrifice on behalf of Adam and his entire race, and shall seal the New Covenant with Israel (Jer. 31:31-34.) for the blessing of every nation.
No Jot or Tittle of the Law Shall Fail.
It is the boast of Israel and of Christians that not one jot or tittle of the Divine Law given through Moses could fail. That is to say, each little particle of the Law must have its fulfillment. Moses himself was a type of the great Mediator or Atoner for sins, as he declares, saying, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from amongst your brethren, like unto me: him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:22,23; Deut. 18:15.) As there is to be a greater Mediator for the New Law Covenant yet future, so there is to be a greater Day of Atonement than the one which Moses inaugurated. And that Day of Atonement will have "better sacrifices" than the one which Moses instituted as a type. But now notice that no type could pass away, fail, without reaching its antitype. Next notice that Israel's Atonement Day has passed away! This means one of two things:
(1) That the Law has failed; or,
(2) That the antitypical Atonement Day has come without Israel knowing about it.
Ah, says our Jewish neighbor, Israel's Atonement Day has not passed away-- we observe it every year, just as our fathers did. For more than three thousand years we have kept it up! not one jot or tittle of our Law can pass without fulfillment.
But our Jewish friends are mistaken. However honest they may intend to be in making their claims, we can disprove them from their own Law. And the sooner they realize the true state of the case the sooner will they be ready to rectify the mistake --for surely there are honest and sincere Hebrews and many of them.
No Priest--No Sacrifice--No Atonement
Day.
No Jew will dispute that the Scriptures declare that there is no remission of sin except by a blood atonement. (Lev. 17:11.) No rabbi amongst God's Chosen People will deny that the Day of Atonement sacrifices could be offered only by a priest. And not one of them surely will deny that in the eight millions of their race to-day there is not one who could authenticate himself as a priest--as a son of Aaron. There is not one of the race, therefore, who would attempt a reproduction of the Tabernacle or Temple, with its Court, its Holy and its Most Holy, and its Atonement Day sin-offerings. Even if they had the land of Palestine completely in his possession. And if a Tabernacle or Temple were restored on the sacred Mount Moriah, not one of Israel's eight millions would venture to offer the Atonement Day sacrifices--knowing, according to the Law, that it would mean death for him to pass into the presence of the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy-Seat where the blood of atonement must be sprinkled "To make atonement for the sins of all the people."
What means it, then, some one may ask, that the Jews all over the world observe most sacredly the tenth day of the seventh month of their year as the Day of Atonement! What means it that those who would even do business on the Seventh Day, in violation of the Law, will religiously abandon all business and all pleasure on his Day of Atonement? What means all this, if God's Chosen People no longer have a Day of Atonement!
Ah, well, if Christian people could really appreciate the situation their hearts and eyes would overflow with sympathy towards God's Chosen People! They know that there is such a thing as sin.
The Jewish masses still have some confidence in Abraham, in Moses, the Law and the Prophets. Whatever may be the motives of sin in their flesh, whatever may be their selfish propensities in common with other men, and perhaps cultivated to a greater intensity, nevertheless they know the meaning of reverence and veneration. The intelligent Jews realize the situation. Yet if they mention it at all, it is with bated breath, with fear, with the realization that this really explains why they have had no favor from the Almighty as a people for eighteen centuries. They try to forget the marks of divine disfavor [OV105] --the fulfillment of the prophetic declaration that they would be without priest and without ephod many days--many years.-- Hosea 3:4.
If at any time Christians should have the opportunity of speaking to God's Chosen People respecting this great matter and the fact that his annual celebration of the Atonement Day for more than eighteen centuries has been a farce--the matter should be mentioned in full sympathy and solely with the desire to call attention to the fact that where the type ceased the antitype had begun. In other words (as their Talmud instructs them, as well as the Bible), everything that Israel possessed in the way of a Priesthood and Sacrifices and a Holy and Most Holy have higher and spiritual antitypical parallels or duplications.
Not one jot or tittle of the Law failed. The priesthood did not cease--it merely passed from the typical Aaron to his great antitype, Messiah, of whom God said through the Prophet David, I have sworn with an oath, I will not repent, Thou (Messiah) art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedek (not after the order of Aaron.)-- Psa. 110:4; Gen. 14:18.
Until recently Christians have not been able (and only a few now) to give to God's Chosen People any help along these lines. Rather they have hindered them. So-called Christian nations, devoid of the Spirit of Christ, have black-listed and tabooed and defrauded and persecuted the Jew in nearly every nation of Europe. They have called them Christ-killers and told them that God would everlastingly torment them, unless they ceased to be Jews and joined some Christian sect or party. Is it any wonder that the Jew classes the Christian as his enemy? Is it any wonder that he is suspicious, and prefers to believe that the unfulfilled promises and Oath of God must yet be fulfilled to his nation? It is no wonder.
The true explanation of matters, however, is this: As not every one who is circumcised in the flesh and calls himself a Jew is really recognized of God as such, so likewise not every Christian who names the name of Jesus is accepted of the Father. On the contrary, the Scriptures assure us that the true Church of Christ is not any of the sects of Christendom; they tell us that the Church of the First Borns have their names written in heaven. Hence the Church rolls furnish no criterion whatever as respects saintship or relationship to God. The majority of Christendom is properly styled by some, "The Christian world." To them the word Christian is a misnomer. The Cause of Christ would be far better off without their adherence or support. They have helped to deceive both the Jews and the heathen as respects the true Christianity set forth by Jesus and his Apostles. They are of the world, and have neither part nor lot with Christ. We are glad, however, that neither they, nor the Jews whom they denounce are destined to eternal torment, but, on the contrary, that for them God's great provision is a full opportunity for eternal life as perfected human beings in a world-wide Eden. All of these blessed opportunities will be secured to mankind through the antitypical Day of Atonement and its higher priest and better sacrifices for sin.
Typical and Antitypical Sin Atonement.
The worldly-wise of to-day, Christians and Jews, are aligning themselves with the Higher Critics and Evolutionists, telling us that if there was an Adam and Eve, at least there has been no fall and that we should put our trust in Evolution. We should believe neither in the Atonement Day for sin nor in a coming Messiah and his glorious Empire of Righteousness, nor think it necessary to have such aid. Indeed, they doubt if there is a God, or, perchance, acknowledging one, they deny his love for mankind or his interest in human welfare--except as blind laws of Evolution shall, through Trust, Syndicate and Labor Unions, decree the survival of the fittest--the more able in crushing out the happiness and life of the less fit, instead of helping them.
But the word of God stands sure. There is a great malevolent influence at work amongst mankind. Sin and Death are reigning. Constitutional hereditary influences are increasing instead of diminishing. Statistics show us that despite all the acknowledged increased skill of humanity along the lines of medicine and surgery, nevertheless the death rate amongst infants is not diminishing. The [OV106] records of insane asylums show that insanity is rapidly increasing. Prison records and newspaper records show that crime and immorality are increasing. Every fact agrees with the declaration of Scripture that our race is under the dominion, under the rule of Sin and Death, and not under the reign of righteousness and Life-everlasting, its reward. We therefore should be deeply interested, Christians and Jews, in Sin-Atonement. If anything can be devised or done to release our race from present conditions of sorrow, pain and death-- to joy and harmony with God and everlasting life, surely every member of the race is deeply, intensely interested therein.
The Bible, that wonderful Book so sadly misunderstood and misrepresented, both by friends and foes, gives the only key of hope. It tells us of a great Day of Atonement in which, by Divine provision, better sacrifices for sins will make complete atonement for the original sin of Adam and grant complete relief from its death sentence--"Dying thou shalt die." Israel's great Atonement Day and its sacrifices and the Covenant with which they were connected and the Priests and Levites who served, and the people who thereby were blessed, were all typical of this great arrangement which "God has purposed in himself from before the foundation of the world"--that all the families of the earth shall be blessed through the seed of Abraham --the Spiritual Seed, as the stars of heaven, the glorified Messiah and his Bride--and also through the earthly seed, natural Israel, who ultimately joined by all the nations, will become as the sand of the seashore for multitude. Let us look first at
The Type and the Antitype.
In the type first came the consecration of the priests--the bullock, representing the High Priest, was slain and subsequently the Lord's goat, representing the under-priests, was also slain. Thus was indicated the great fact that the sacrifice of Christ and of his followers--their renunciation of the earthly nature--was necessary in order to their attainment of the kingly priesthood typified in Melchisedek, who was a "priest upon his throne."-- Lev. 9:23; Psa. 110:4.
Next in turn the Atonement Day sacrifices show the same bullock and the same goat; typical of The Christ, Head and Body, whose sacrificial death not only served for the consecration of the real priesthood, but also will be acceptable by Jehovah as the price of the world's At-one-ment with God. These "better sacrifices," fully rewarded and more in the exaltation of the sacrificers to glory, honor and immortality in the Kingdom, are applicable for the sins of the whole world--"all the people." Thus did Israel's bullock of the Day of Atonement and bullock of the priest's consecration represent the consecration and death of Jesus the great Sin-bearer, who died, the Just for the unjust, to bring us back into harmony with God. His high exaltation by resurrection to the highest plane of spirit being has been a reward not only to his own sacrifice, but has qualified him to be the great King of kings and Lord of lords. Through him Jehovah God will fulfill all the gracious promises made to Abraham and reiterated to Isaac, Jacob and through the prophets --"In thy Seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
As the Lord's goat was taken from the people, so the Little Flock, the Royal Priesthood, the followers of Jesus gathered from every nation, Jew and Gentile, will constitute Messiah's associates on the spirit plane. As the Lord's goat in the type underwent all the experiences of the bullock, so of the footstep followers of Jesus it is declared that they must walk in his footsteps, must suffer with Christ, must be dead with him, must go with him "outside the camp," must with him bear the reproaches of those whose eyes of understanding are still blinded by the great Adversary and who therefore know them not, even as they knew him not. The sacrifice of the antitypical bullock was accomplished more than eighteen centuries ago.
The sacrifice of the antitypical goat class has been in process from the Day of Pentecost until now. According to our understanding of the Scriptures, therefore, this Gospel Age has been the antitypical Day of Atonement in which "the better sacrifices" have been offered.--Romans 12:1; Heb. 9:23.
The privilege and opportunity of joining [OV107] in this sacrificial work is limited to a certain number who must have certain characteristics--character-likeness to the Great High Priest. We understand that this elect Church and saintly few is almost complete, and that the nominal Church systems have neither part nor lot in the matter, being unrecognized of the Lord, unauthorized. In all of them there have been saints and proportionately as these saintly ones were therein, the light of the world was in them, and proportionately as these were fewer there was grosser darkness. All the time, however, God recognized the few, and not others, as his Church, saying, "Fear not, Little Flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." (Luke 12:32.) "Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice." "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels."-- Psa. 50:5; Mal. 3:17.
As we have already seen, two different classes have been elected, the one during the Jewish Age of Favor, the other during this Gospel Age. And these are to co-labor during the reign of Messiah for 1,000 years for the blessing of Israel and all the families of the earth. The non-elect, instead of being doomed to an eternity of torture, are to have glorious privileges and opportunities for attaining eternal life and eternal harmony with God under the reign of the elect--the Kingdom of Heaven primarily spiritual, secondarily the earthly, its agency or channel.
The Atonement is Two-Fold.
The word At-one-ment refers to two parties out of harmony becoming reconciled. Original sin brought humanity under the condemnation of the Divine sentence of death. The real Atonement Day sacrifices will fully accomplish the satisfaction of Divine Justice, but still more will remain to be done. And it is for this great work that Messiah's Kingdom has been promised and will be inaugurated. Man will still needs to be reconciled to God. Not that man has any real grievance against his Creator, but because his fall brought him into a condition of "enmity against God" and righteousness.
Instead of love, peace, joy and goodness which were originally part of his character when created in the image and likeness of his Maker, man now finds himself full of an opposite spirit--selfishness, envy, hatred, strife--works of the flesh and of the devil. Man now needs to be reconciled to God--to be brought back again to the place where he cannot only properly appreciate Divine Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power, but to the place where he can live in full harmony with that high appreciation--live acceptably to God and therefore to be permitted to live forever and to enjoy his Creator's blessings as fully as do the holy angels.
The great work of the Day of Atonement, therefore, may in this sense of the word be considered as including the thousand years of Messiah's reign, during which he will make atonement with the Lord for all the willing and obedient of Adam's race, assisting, encouraging, uplifting, correcting, reproving, blessing every nation, people and kindred. Ultimately we are assured that all who decline this free gift of God's love will be completely and everlastingly destroyed, annihilated in the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery.
In the type the blessing of the world was represented as accomplished by the high priest on the Day of Atonement after he had made satisfaction to Justice. Then coming out of the Most Holy he laid aside the sacrificial garments and put on the robes of glory and beauty, which foreshadowed his great work as the Mediator of the New Covenant between God and the World. Proceeding to the altar of sacrifice, the high priest lifted up his hands and blessed the people, who lay prostrated before him in sackcloth and ashes. No wonder that the people rose up and gave a shout of thanksgiving for the cancellation of their sins for a year, in the type. In the antitype they will rise up from the dust of ignorance and superstition and sin, and arise from the tomb, to praise God and by his grace to attain unto the glorious perfection he has designed for mankind in an earthly paradise, world-wide. Ah! there is a wonderful force and beauty in God's Plan, and nothing illustrates it better than the Day of Atonement and its sacrifices and ultimate blessings as God gave these in a typical way to his Chosen People.
[OV108]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
X. Zionism is God's Call
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
THOU SHALT arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, has come; for thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favor the dust thereof. Then shall the Gentiles fear the name of Jehovah and the kings of the earth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory."-- Psalm 102:13-18.
The above Psalm is recognized as prophetic, both by Christians and Jews, each applying the matter to himself. We agree that there is a spiritual as well as a natural Israel. But we hold that Christian people have erred in applying all the Scriptures to themselves and in not discerning that a large proportion of the promised coming blessings belong to natural Israel. Failure to recognize this has worked injury and confusion to the minds of many Christian Bible students. Appropriating to themselves promises that belong to natural Israel, Christians have been led to turn and twist and spiritualize the Word of the Lord, until they have destroyed much of their own faith in it, as, for instance, the Scriptures declare that in Messiah's Day the wilderness shall blossom as the rose and the solitary place be glad and that the people shall build houses and inhabit them and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, and long enjoy the work of their hands; and that "they shall sit, every man under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them afraid."--Micah 4:4. An attempt to spiritualize these promises and make them appear to apply to spiritual Israel has been robbing natural Israel of his portion of God's favor, and has caused darkness and perplexity amongst Christian Israelites in their endeavor to harmonize these Scriptures with others which assure us that "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:50), and that ours is the heavenly calling and that the saints must be changed in a moment from human conditions to spiritual conditions, in order to enter into their reward.
St. Paul urges upon followers of Jesus that they "Rightly divide the Word of Truth." (2 Tim. 2:15.) This admonition we have neglected, to our loss. From Genesis to Malachi, the Jew found not a suggestion of a change of nature from earthly to heavenly, from fleshly to spiritual. To whatever extent he has learned to spiritualize the teachings of the Law and the Prophets he has been swerved by outside influences. For instance, God's promise to Abraham was, "Lift up now thine eyes and look to the East and to the West and to the North and to the South. All the land that thou seest will I give to thee and to thy seed after thee." Abraham must get that land first, and from him it must pass to his posterity. He never possessed [OV109] one foot of it, according to the Genesis account, which is confirmed by St. Stephen, who declared (Acts 7:5) that Abraham received not so much of the land as to set his foot upon. This promise contains nothing whatever respecting a spiritual land or a change of nature, either to Abraham or to his posterity. This promise and others like it belong to Abraham's natural seed, and properly they should wait and hope for its fulfillment. It will be fulfilled when, shortly, Father Abraham and the other saintly ones of the Jewish family shall, with him, be resurrected from the dead to the glory of human perfection. Thus is it written, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth."--Psa. 45:16.
These princes amongst mankind will be the visible rulers and teachers of the world. To them first will be drawn the Jews. Then, as the remainder of the world will perceive the blessings resulting to Israel they will realize that this new order of things is advantageous for all, and will submit themselves to this Semitic government. The Jews are gradually coming to see that no human being could possibly fulfill all the glorious predictions made respecting their Messiah. They are quite prepared, therefore, to note the force of Daniel's prophecy (12:1) that Messiah will be one like God. It will not be difficult, therefore, for the Jew to comprehend that this God-like Messiah, who will combine in himself the qualities of Moses, the great teacher and law-giver, of David and Solomon the great kings, and of Melchisedek, the great priest--all on a bigger scale--antitypical--must be a spirit being and not a human being. And if a spirit being like unto the angels, his Throne and glory will not be earthly nor visible to men except by the eyes of their understanding. Abraham, Moses, David, the Prophets, etc., will be the earthly representatives of this great invisible spiritual Prince-- Michael--who as God shall rule the world in righteousness and lift up the poor and the needy and humble the proud and dispel ignorance and superstition and cause the light of the knowledge of Jehovah to fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea.
Dominion of Sin to Be Overthrown.
Satan is Scripturally designated the Prince of this age who now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience. (Eph. 2:2.) The promise of the Scriptures is that his usurpation of earth's dominion will cease. It has been carried on through ignorance, superstition and deception. Because of it we read, "Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people." The distinct promise is that when Messiah's reign shall begin, Satan shall be bound and the reign of sin and death shall be at an end. Instead, Messiah and his saintly Bride on the spirit plane shall reign, promoting righteousness and everlasting life. Abraham and the other ancient worthies will be the honored earthly representatives of this glorious spiritual Empire. The object and work of Messiah's reign will be not only to estop the reign of sin and death, but, more than this, to lift up poor, fallen humanity out of ignorance and superstition, out of sin and death, out of weaknesses and frailties. Messiah's Kingdom, therefore, is properly termed the times or years of restitution (Acts 3:19-21) and it is properly symbolized by Israel's Fiftieth Year of Jubilee.
The Hindrance Will Be Removed.
The question properly arises--If God intended so glorious a future for His Chosen People, why was it necessary that there should be so long a delay? Why did he not at once exalt them in the days of Moses or in the days of David or Solomon? Why did he not at once bring in these great blessings which the Scriptures foretell?
The answer is a simple one which meets all requirements:
(1) Nearly two thousand years was consumed in finding the saintly few of Israel who with Father Abraham would be worthy to be Messiah's Princes in all the earth during his reign of a thousand years.
(2) Additionally, God purposed that Messiah should have companions on the spirit plane with himself and sharers of his nature, glory, honor and power--his Bride, even as Abraham sought a bride for the typical Isaac to be associated with [OV110] him in conferring the blessing. For nearly two thousand years this "little flock" of saintly people from every nation, people, kindred and tongue, Jews, French, Swedes, British, Germans, etc., a saintly few, will by a share in the First Resurrection be changed from earthly nature to heavenly.
Thus we see that God's great Plan for the world's salvation by Messiah's Kingdom has been in preparation ever since the flood, but the preparation is not yet quite completed. The Princes of Israel have been found, have been approved, and are merely sleeping in the dust of the earth (Daniel 12:2), waiting until the other small elect class shall be completed, whom we shall designate the spiritual Princes or Messiah's Bride. This work complete, the blessing of all the families of the earth will be ushered in with power and great glory. And although its introduction, it is declared, will come through a great time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, nevertheless that trouble cloud has such a glorious silver lining of hope and joy and blessing for Israel and for the world that all who see it in its true character may really welcome it. Short, sharp and decisive, it will make the rough places smooth. It will overthrow the pride and arrogance of man. It will humble all. It will break many hearts and overthrow many ambitions, but the eventual results will be "The desire of all nations."--Hag. 2:7.
"Yea, the Set Time is Come."
So many are haphazard and thoughtless themselves that they naturally think of the Almighty from their own standpoint-- as conducting a haphazard plan of dealing with humanity--a plan devoid of wisdom, justice, love and power--a plan which would reflect dishonorably on any human architect, on any human ruler, on any human statesman. Let us be through with such childish misconceptions of God. Otherwise, like the Higher Critics, we would soon esteem ourselves superior to the God of the Bible, and, correspondingly, our reverence, our worship, our obedience to Him would diminish.
It is when we begin to get the proper focus upon the Holy Scriptures that we begin to realize our own littleness and the greatness of the Creator--the insignificance and absurdity of our human theories and creeds and the sublime majesty of the Divine arrangement for the children of men. We have just seen the selection of two companies of saintly characters for the Divine purpose of the world's blessing. Should it surprise us to find that the Almighty has set time ordained from before the foundation of the world controlling every feature of his great Plan of the Ages? It should not. Should we expect that fallen and imperfect humanity will see the advisability for chronological exactness and that the Almighty God should ignore such a matter? Have men manufactured clocks and watches so that they regulate the affairs of life to the very moment in respect to the starting of a train or in respect to the hour in which a timelock would release the treasures of a safe, and shall we, then, be surprised to find that the Almighty Creator has times, yea, set times, connected with the ordering of his great Plan of the Ages? Surely not. Hence our text is quite reasonable in this declaration that God has the time, yea, the set time, for remembering his promises to Israel and for bringing about their fulfillment? Rather this should encourage us, should stimulate our faith and make us more and more obedient to him who speaks from heaven and who tells us that the great clock of the universe is about to strike the hour which will end this present age and introduce the reign of righteousness, the Kingdom of God's dear Son.
Zionism the First Call.
It is not by accident, but of Divine foreknowledge and clearly foretold in the prophecies that the nation of Israel has suffered shamefully at the hands of many Christian nations. And, alas, to our shame it must be said that many of the atrocities practiced against them are by Christians falsely so-called--Christians in name, but not in fact. Note, for instance, the recent disorder in Roumania, which, fortunately, did not result to the Jews in great loss of life. But note its malevolent misrepresentation of Christ and his teachings; the so-called Greek Catholic Christians [OV111] went to the cemetery ghoulishly, dug up recently interred Jews, and flung the corpses on the doorsteps of their relatives. Alas, that such things are possible in the name of Christ! Alas, too, that there is no general protest from so-called Christian nations against such disorders, nor against the pogroms so common of late in Russia! But what does this prove? It demonstrates what all sensible people should know, namely, that there are no Christian Governments in the world-- that the name Christendom is a sad mistake! When Christ's Kingdom shall really be established amongst men no such brutalities will be permitted in any name or under any pretext.
By the permission of these severe trials upon the Chosen People, God has not only, we believe, been chastening them, but, additionally, he has been keeping them together as a people, separate from all others. Had they been without persecution, doubtless they would have been swallowed up like the other peoples of the world. As it is, they are a living monument to the truthfulness of God's Word--they are a miracle.
And now when prophecy shows that God's time has come for remembering and executing his gracious promises to Israel, his first move toward their recovery to his favor comes through Zionism. Not that Zionism was started as a religious movement; quite the contrary. It is a spasm of national pride, however commendable such a pride may be. Weary with the persecutions of centuries, the Jew hoped that by their re-establishment as a nation they would command a greater respect throughout the world and be saved from racial hatred and persecution. They hoped, also, that the land of their fathers would furnish an asylum for the Russian outcasts of their race. The enthusiasm of Zionism spread, especially amongst the poorer Jews. Meantime other hopes and aims were set forward. Some said that Mesopotamia was the proper place, and the British gave rights of colonization; others urged Argentine Republic, and millions of dollars were spent in seeking to place Russian Jews there. Others thought to make Jewish colonies in New Jersey, and still others favored similar schemes in Texas. But none of these flourished. Colonies in Palestine alone seemed to prosper even moderately. Meantime other hopes arose--the Russian douma promised to be favorable to the Jew and to permit his maintaining his home in Russia, inducing bands of Russian Jews to remain in the land of their adoption. But this hope has also failed them. Persecution and evictions in Russia continue as before. The Jew is, therefore, more heart-sick than ever. His greatest prosperity has been in London and in New York City. In the latter place reside twelve hundred thousand of them. Now fear is taking hold upon their hearts that even in this land of liberty and enlightenment they may not be safe from accusations and persecutions leveled against them on account of race prejudices. Alas, poor Jews!
The Voice--"Die Stimme."
It is at this juncture and under these conditions that God's Chosen People to-day are awakening and listening to the voice of prophecy, which the writer has had the privilege of bringing to their attention. Zionism, we believe, is about to take on a new form. Instead of being any longer a movement of race pride and for race protection it seems evident that it will shortly be a religious movement. Back to the prophecies! Back to the Word of God! Back to the promise made to Abraham and repeatedly confirmed! Back to the oath-bound promise that Abraham's seed shall yet bless all the families of the earth! The tide of Jewish sentiment is turning, and swiftly, too.
Long centuries of training in religion have marked the Jew as a religionist as well as a money-lover. He loved his money and labored for it, because his heart had no spiritual ideal for which to labor. But the message of the prophets is now ringing in the hearts of many: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her appointed time is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."-- Isa. 40:1-2.
At first, of course, the movement will only be amongst the poor, those not saturated with unbelief, Higher Criticism, [OV112] Evolution, etc. Gradually it will take hold --we believe--upon those more intelligent and those of wealth. When that moment shall arrive, there will be a sufficiency of funds to forward a great movement Zion-ward. Not that all Jews, nor that even the majority of them, will go to Palestine, but surely the sympathy of all who are Jews indeed must shortly go thither, and that will mean the aid and comfort of co-religionists who will be seeking an asylum. Moreover, the great time of trouble which is nearing will be recognized by the Jews as soon as by others, and Palestine will be considered one of the best places of safety for personal property. Moreover, the Scriptures indicate that the persecutions of the Jews are not yet ended. These also will tend to drive them home. This great time of trouble will not only prepare Israel, but all the nations, to welcome Messiah's glorious Kingdom of righteousness, joy and peace.
THE ROSE.
WITHIN my hand I gently hold the Garden's
Queen, a rose,--
The softly-sighing summer wind about it faintly blows,
And wafts its wondrous fragrance out upon the
evening air.
And as I gaze upon the rose, so perfect and so fair,
In memory's halls there wakes, the while, a legend,
quaint and old,
How once upon a time, one day, a sage picked up,
we're told,
A lump of common clay, so redolent with perfume
rare,
He marveled, and the question wondering asked,
"Whence dost thou bear
Such fragrance, O, thou lump of clay?" In tones
of deep repose
There came the sweet reply, "I have been dwelling
with the rose."
The while the legend stirs my soul, within my hand
still lie
The petals of the rose, and from my heart of hearts
I cry,
"Thou lovely Rose of Sharon, may I ever dwell with
Thee,
So closely that the fragrance of Thy love shall cling
to me!
Oh, fill me with the spirit of Thy sweet humility,
Then all shall see and know, dear Lord, that I have
learned of Thee;
And let mine earthly pilgrimage, until its blessed close,
Each day and hour bear witness, I've been dwelling
with the Rose!"
[OV113]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
XI. Must Jews Become Christians in
Order to Return to Divine Favor?
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
USING THE WORD Christian after the ordinary manner as applied to the various sects, Catholic and Protestant, we answer No! Such is not their future course as outlined in the Bible. We are not forgetting that those first called Christians at Antioch were all Jews. Neither are we forgetting that the "high calling" to be Spiritual Israelites, "saints," is open to people of every kindred, nation and tongue, and hence to Jews as well as to others. We are, however, making a wide distinction between the Christians of the Apostles' days and the nominalism which goes under the title of Christian to-day and for centuries past. We know of no reason why a saintly Jew might not with full credit to himself and with full respect to the Jewish religion, accept the Gospel invitation to become a Spiritual Israelite. Spiritual Israelites are really saintly Jews who recognize all the promises of God made to Abraham and his seed and who recognize the Law Covenant made with God's chosen people at Mt. Sinai, and who recognize not only the types of the Heavenly things (the higher things), but their antitypes, the spiritual realities.
It is the accretions of error which have become associated with the name Christian which make the name and the system of doctrines which it represents repulsive to the Jew, repulsive also to more than the Jew, to many thinking people both inside and outside the various sects of Christendom, so called.
Some of the Jews' Differences.
The long training of the Jew in monotheism is his first hindrance. He reads in the Law, "Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one--Jehovah. Thou shalt have no other Gods before him." With this definite command continually sounding in his ears as the first and chiefest statement of the Decalogue, is it any wonder that the Jew rejects the doctrine of the Trinity? It is an absurdity to him, indeed, that there are three Gods in one God, or, as some others state it, three persons or representations of one God, or as others state it, three Gods equal in power and in glory with a oneness of purpose. To join Christendom, the Jew would be required to accept this proposition against which not only his moral sense but also all his common sense rebel. He promptly resents as contrary to all of his holy Scriptures the thought that there is more than one God.
When others approach the Jew from a different standpoint and say, We agree with you, there is only one God, but he has made three different manifestations of himself, and Jesus was one of these, the Jew replies, Would you have me believe that Jesus was Jehovah God, and that when he died, the great king of the universe expired on Calvary? I can never believe such an absurdity!
The Trinitarian replies, You must believe this or be damned to eternal torment --nothing less can save you. You must believe that Jehovah God appeared in the form of a man, and that the death upon Calvary was essential to human salvation. You may take either of two views of the matter as we Trinitarians are divided: You may say that when Jesus died on the cross Jehovah died, and that we were without a God until the third day thereafter, when he rose from the dead; or, you may say as other Trinitarians say, [OV114] that when Jesus died upon the cross Jehovah did not die, but merely disassociated himself from the body with which he had been associated for thirty-three and one-half years. With these Trinitarians you may say that Jesus merely pretended to pray to Jehovah, calling upon him as his Father--pretended (as a part of the general scheme all of which was a deception) that God for a time appeared to be a man, appeared to have human weaknesses and necessities--sorrowed, wept, ate, drank, slept--to carry out the delusion.
Is it any wonder that the Jew refuses to believe such irrational, such unscriptural presentations respecting Jehovah God? We believe that it is to the credit of the Jew that he has rejected such unreason, and that for centuries he has clung to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. We hold that to bring the Jew under such misconceptions of the truth, and to thus fetter his reason and his conscience, would be to do him an injury.
The Jews Should Not Be "Christianized."
These very teachings already have done incalculable injury to Christians, causing needless confusion of thought and driving many to agnosticism. So far from assisting Jews into such misbeliefs, contrary both to the Old Testament and to the New Testament, we should help Christians out of the entanglements of these hoary errors, back to the simple teachings of Jesus, the Apostles and Prophets.
How plainly the Apostle states the matter, saying, that to the heathen there be Lords many and Gods many, but "to us there is one living and true God of whom are all things; and one Lord (Master, Rabbi) Jesus Christ by whom are all things." (1 Cor. 8:5,6.) Hearken again to a correct translation of John 1:1-3,5: "In the beginning was the Logos and the Logos was with the God and the Logos was a God. The same was in the beginning with the God. All things were made by him, and without him was not one thing made that was made....And the Logos was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth."
How beautifully simple and clear the matter is when we take this inspired explanation of the relationship between Jehovah the Father and Creator of all things who was without beginning, "from everlasting to everlasting, God"--and the glorious Son of God who was his first creation and through whom he exercised the power which created both angels and men. Nor are these passages which we have quoted isolated ones, contrary to the general sentiment of the Old and New Testaments. On the contrary, they express the very essence of all their teachings. Jesus himself declared that he came not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him. He again declared: "The Father is greater than I--greater than all." He declared that he came from God to obediently do the Divine will, and that he came under the promise that he would be again exalted to the spirit plane after finishing the work which the Father gave him to do, in the which he was stimulated by the "joy which was set before him."--Heb. 12:2.
He did, indeed, declare that he and the Father were one; but he showed that he meant not one in person but one in harmony, because he did not his own will, but the will of the Father. He showed this by praying in the same connection for his disciples "that they may be one even as thou Father and I are one," not one in person, but one in unison of heart in fellowship with the Father, sharers of his spirit.--John 17:11.
Earthly and Heavenly Promises.
Not a single Scripture from Genesis to Revelation mentions the Trinity or even hints that we have three Gods equal in power and in glory. Because there was no Scripture one was manufactured in the seventh century by adding certain words to 1 John 5:7,8. All Bible scholars know of this addition, and that it was not found in any manuscript of earlier date than the seventh century. Why do they not inform the people of the truth? Is it because the doctrine is so ingrained in all of the creeds that they fear that to tell the truth on this subject might cause a general investigation on the part of some? We answer that thousands are falling into infidelity because of this doctrine and the doctrines of Purgatory and Eternal Torment. We urge that the more intelligent of Christian people are losing all faith in the Divine Word because of these absurdities which they are taught to believe [OV115] are the most important teachings of the Bible; whereas, rightly understood, the Holy Scriptures teach none of these things, but on the contrary present a most reasonable, sound, consistent presentation of the divine plan for human salvation that could possibly be asked for.
Assuredly we must not try to bring the Jew into the darkness and inconsistencies that we are endeavoring ourselves to get out of, and endeavoring to help others out of. But if we did endeavor to proselyte the Jew to these inconsistencies, would the endeavor succeed, has the endeavor succeeded during the past seventeen centuries since these errors were received by Christendom? Were not practically all the Jews ever reached by the Gospel reached by that pure message which Jesus and the Apostles preached, and which to-day is obsolete in Christendom so far as our "orthodox" creeds are concerned?
Jesus Honored as a Great Jew.
Not merely one but many Jewish Rabbis have attempted to give the Jewish conception of Jesus. They have spoken of him in highest terms as a great teacher who discussed great truths beyond the ability of his day to comprehend. Thus they account for the opposition which he aroused, and which led to his death. Why ask them to admit more than this? Why endeavor to make them believe an absurdity contrary to the Master's own words? The absurdity, the untruth, is what acts as an emetic upon the Jew and causes him to reject Jesus of Nazareth entirely. On the contrary, the true presentation of the claims of Jesus as he made them and as his Apostles made them would evidently be as unoffensive to the Jew as to the German, the Italian or the Briton. Suppose, for instance, we were to tell him the truth as follows:
Your Scriptures teach that your nation is to be used of God as his instrumentality in dispensing Divine favor to all nations. You agree that Moses was not the great leader intended to accomplish this, for he died without accomplishing it. He himself pointed out the coming of a greater Prophet and greater Teacher and greater Law-giver, the Mediator of a greater Covenant. That greater Covenant is mentioned by your prophets as a "New Covenant" which God will make with you "after those days, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 31:31-34.) The law of that New Covenant will be written upon your hearts instead of upon tables of stone. Does not this imply that the antitype of Moses, the greater Prophet than he, will be exceeding great? Look also to your Prophet-- King David and your wise King Solomon. Call to mind the prophesies that Messiah shall come from this line, but that he shall be immensely greater than either David or Solomon. Point the Jew to the fact that Melchisedec was a priest as well as a king, and that of him God declared: "I have sworn and I will not repent. Thou (Messiah) shalt be a priest forever after the Melchisedec order--a reigning priest."
The Jew would have no difficulty whatever in identifying a Messiah the antitype, the greater, more glorious Prophet, Priest and King, and that all of those great Jewish characters of the past merely foreshadowed or typified the Messiah of glory. If then we call their attention to the prophecy of Daniel (12:1) they are ready to identify that prophesy also with the same Messiah. They will freely admit that he must be very great to be called, "who as God"--one like God. Call their attention then to Daniel's prophesy (7:13,14) in which Messiah is represented as receiving his kingdom at the end of the Times of the Gentiles.
All these things the Jewish mind can grasp, does grasp--rejoices in. This testimony brings to them fresh hope, fresh courage. If, therefore, the errors of so-called Christendom were out of the way it would be a very simple matter indeed to show the Jew that Jesus, the Great Teacher of the past, who died, did not die by accident but of Divine intention, and that his death was of Divine foreordination as necessary for the forgiveness of Adamic sin and the recovery of the race from the death sentence. It surely would not be difficult for the Jew to see that sacrifice as the antitype foreshadowed by the sin offering of their Day of Atonement, and that without the atonement for sin on this grand scale, Messiah could not bless the race of sinners.
The Jew has a keen sense of justice, and could readily see (1) that God, having pronounced the sentence of death against the sinner could not rescind his own decision. (2) They could also see that the teaching of the Law, "an eye for [OV116] an eye, a tooth for a tooth," implied that to redeem the sinner would require a man's life for a man's life--the death of a holy one as the redemption price of our father Adam and his race, which lost life-rights through him.
What Say the Scriptures?
God's Chosen People have been under Divine supervision and care for thirty-five hundred years so that they have been kept separate from all the nations of earth and are thus a standing miracle testifying to the truthfulness of the holy promises of the Scriptures. This teaches us to look to the Scriptures respecting their future. The same Scriptures which testify to their solidarity as a people inform us that they will become a nation at the close of this Gospel Age when "the set time" for God to remember Zion shall come. St. Paul explicitly points out that Divine favor will return to natural Israel just as soon as the "call" of this Gospel Age to the Heavenly Kingdom class shall have reached fulfillment.
Then "they shall obtain mercy through your mercy"--through the saintly few who, during this age, become identified with the glorified Messiah as his Bride and joint heir. Hence it was evidently not the Divine intention that the Jew should be amalgamated in the Christian systems of to-day. Indeed, this separateness from the masses of Christendom is to work to the advantage of the Jew in that he will be the better prepared for the earthly blessings that are then to come to him.--Romans 11:25-32.
The blessings of the new dispensation about to be ushered in will be earthly blessings, and the Jew knows that all of the promises of God contained in the Mosaic law and writings of the holy prophets of old tell of earthly blessings--not of heavenly or spiritual favors. The Jew will be more ready to respond to the new order of things than his Christian or Gentile neighbors will be. Moreover, according to the Scriptures, the princes or rulers seen amongst men will be of Jewish stock, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets raised from the dead in full human perfection to be the "princes in all the earth" and representatives of Messiah's invisible spirit Kingdom. That the Jew will be in much better condition of mind to receive the teachings and requirements of those new princes needs no discussion. --Psalm 45:16.
Before leaving this subject, we note the prophesy of old which tells that at the time Messiah will manifest the glories of his power and begin his intervention in human affairs in favor of the right and against the wrong, will be a time of "Jacob's trouble," a time when the Jews will be in special tribulation from their foes. Then the Lord shall manifest his power on their behalf as in olden times, giving them a miraculous deliverance which they will recognize. In consequence the Prophet declares they shall look upon, discern, "recognize Him whom they pierced"--not by seeing the glorious Messiah (Daniel 12:1), with their natural sight, but they will recognize Him with the eyes of their understanding.-- Zechariah 12:10.
At that time of favor toward them on the part of Messiah, "the great Prince which standeth for the children of Daniel's people," they shall discern that the glorious time of opportunity and blessing for which they so long waited has come. Then their sorrow will be great, as they will recognize to the full their national mistake in the rejection of Jesus, but "the Lord will pour upon them the spirit of prayer and of supplication," and their mourning will be but the beginning of their blessing and time of rejoicing. All the same, this prophesy proves decidedly that it is not the Divine intention that the Jews as a race shall become Christians, or become associated with the Christian systems of this age, which, alas, so seriously misrepresent the Great Teacher and the glorious truths which He and his Apostles taught.
Let us leave the Jew in the future to his God, that he may in due time receive the blessing which God has promised him. Let Christendom in general go on in its blindness as the Scriptures also foretell, to its destruction, but let those of God's people, sanctified in Christ Jesus, walk circumspectly, not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Let them seek as spiritual Israelites the heavenly things and joint-heirship with Messiah on the spiritual plane; not begrudging to the Jew the first place in the earthly phase of Messiah's Kingdom through which all the families of the earth will be blessed.
[OV117]
GOD'S
CHOSEN
PEOPLE
XII. Should Jews and Christians Unite?
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle
AMONG THE MORE than a million Jews of New York City quite a commotion has been raised by the celebrated Rabbi Wise of the Free Synagogue. His congregation has recently been holding union services with some Unitarian congregations. This has opened a discussion in every quarter, not so much amongst the Unitarians as amongst the Jews. The question is asked: What does this signify? Should it be encouraged or discouraged? Is it a step in the right or in the wrong direction? Naturally, "orthodox" Jews object to it; yet they scarcely know what argument to use against it. They believe in progress, but feel that this is illegitimate progress. But in what respect would it be wrong for Jews who believe in the one God, Jehovah, to meet with Christians who believe in one God, Jehovah, they do not know; especially as the Unitarians and the Jews both believe that Jesus was merely an imperfect man, had no pre-existence, and accomplished no salvation --that he was merely a prominent Jew of his time whose teachings have made a great impress upon the most progressive peoples of the world.
We have been asked to discuss this subject and to give the reason for such opinions as we may express. We are pleased to do so.
Without intending the slightest disrespect to Rabbi Wise and his congregation, nor to the Unitarians, we must frankly state that we see nothing that either of them can ever gain or lose by the kind of "union" services they hold; nor by the admixture of what they would designate as their several "faiths." As we understand, Rabbi Wise is an agnostic, and has no Jewish faith. As we understand, he is a "higher critic," an "evolutionist," who rejects the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and relies entirely upon his own wisdom and the wisdom of other scholarly men of our day. And to our understanding, the faith or lack of faith of the Unitarian denomination is exactly the same. Hence we say, that union between these people who are purely agnostic moralists could neither help nor injure either party to the union.
People who have no faith have nothing to lose along theological lines. And does not this truthful and not unkindly criticism apply to thousands of Jews and Christians who are not affiliated with either Unitarianism or Rabbi Wise's Free Synagogue? Alas, it is too true that the majority of those who profess the names of Jews and Christians are really neither; because they have abandoned the faith and hopes which those names represent.
Christian Hopes Not Jewish Hopes.
If Christians and Jews rightly understood [OV118] each other's hopes, according to the Scriptures, the conflict between them would instantly cease; because their hopes are totally different. The hope of the Jew is the hope of mankind in general--an earthly hope--a hope of restitution, restoration to a Paradise condition and perfection. The hope of the Christian is not the hope of the world, but a very different one--it is the hope of an "elect" or select class which God is gathering out of the world from every nation--English and Irish, French and German, Scotch and Scandinavian, Jewish and Italian.
All through the Bible from Genesis to Malachi, search as we will, we find not an invitation to the Jews or to the world to become spirit beings like unto the angels. Every promise, every invitation, every hope held forth, on the contrary, is earthly; the desert is to blossom as the rose; solitary places are to be glad; springs are to break forth in the desert; the earth is to yield her increase; every man is to sit under his own vine and fig tree with none to make him afraid. They shall not build houses and another inhabit; they shall not plant vineyards and another enjoy the fruit; but they shall build houses and plant vineyards and perpetually enjoy the work of their hands in Paradise restored. This is the testimony of the Prophets. This testimony, given particularly to the Jew, informs us that he will be first in prominence in the world in the time when the Lord will do this--in the time when the Lord will "pour out his spirit upon all flesh"--in the time when "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God." Israel's blessing, therefore, implies the blessing of all nations, the seed of Abraham being first among those nations in the Divine favor which will be brought to mankind by Messiah's Kingdom.
The Law of Moses tells the same story, namely, that the Divine arrangement is that Israel shall keep the Law and become instructors of the world in respect to the keeping of the Law; and that he that keepeth the Law shall live thereby--everlastingly enjoy all of the blessings of God for his portion. The Covenant given at Mt. Sinai did not secure these glorious results promised; because it was merely typical of a new and better Covenant to be established through Messiah (Jeremiah 31:31.) The sin-offerings which were the basis of the Law Covenant never really cancelled sin, but were typical of the better sacrifices which the Mediator of the New Covenant, Messiah, offers.
Moses himself, the Mediator of the Law Covenant, was only a type or foreshadow of the greater Prophet, Messiah, who will be the Mediator of the New Covenant, under which all the blessings foreshadowed will become accomplished facts. The Jewish Sabbath Day commanded by the Law brought blessings indeed; but that rest was merely typical and prophetic of the coming restitution and peace and blessing which Israel and the whole world will be privileged to enter into and to enjoy during Messiah's reign. And for all the faithful ones, who keep that Sabbath, there will be an eternal Sabbath to follow.
The Jubilee Year established by Moses, the Mediator of the Law Covenant, was merely a type or picture of the great Jubilee of the world to be inaugurated by the antitypical Mediator, Messiah, during the period of his Messianic reign, the world's great Jubilee. Ah, yes! the whole world will be full of jubilation, as every man shall return to his former estate, to his original patrimony, to Edenic conditions, to human perfection--to all that was lost through Father Adam's disobedience, and all that was redeemed through the obedience of the great Second Perfect Man, who has since been highly exalted, a "Prince" and a Deliverer--Messiah.-- Isaiah 9:6; Dan. 9:25.
These earthly restitution blessings are so tangible and so glorious that many noting them have said to us, Why tell us of the intangible, heavenly things? The earthly blessings described in the Bible more fully meet and satisfy the cravings of our hearts than could anything of the intangible and spiritual kind, which must be received wholly upon faith. We answer that this is so, that the Divine blessings promised to the Jew, and, later, to all nations, as they will come into Covenant relationship with God through Messiah, are the most wonderful that the natural heart and mind can possibly conceive. Undoubtedly mankind, after receiving the Divine provision through Messiah, will be [OV119] more than satisfied.
But the Christian's hope is different from this. It is intangible, indescribable. It can be received only by faith. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath in reservation" for the spiritual class--the saintly few now being called and selected from Jews and Gentiles of every nation. The blessings promised to this saintly class are all spiritual. They are to be like unto the angels and like unto Messiah himself, invisible to men through the First Resurrection "change" which they all will experience. They know not, because as the Scriptures declare, it is impossible to explain to them the character of the blessings which shall be the portion of this faithful few. What to them will take the place of beautiful flowers and luscious fruits, hills and valleys, brooks and mountains, clouds and sunshine and rainbows, they know not. They cannot understand. It is kept a "mystery." They are required to "walk by faith and not by sight." This class, typified by Aaron and his tribe of Levi, will have no inheritance in the land--no inheritance in the earth. They must sacrifice all earthly things and gladly, too, if they would be accounted worthy of the heavenly things. Theirs is a great test of faith. No wonder that few are attracted by this invitation when properly set forth and informed that it means a life of sacrifice and self-denial, faith and obedience even unto death, in order to be accounted worthy to enter into the heavenly glories to follow.
From what we have said, it must be manifest that we are not holding up any denomination of Christendom as being this spiritual class, the Royal Priesthood. Rather, as the Scriptures do, we hold up this class to view as gathered to the Lord and not into sectarian systems from every nation, kindred and tongue. Thus is it written of these: "Gather together my saints unto me; those who have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice." (Psa. 50:5.) "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels." (Mal. 3:17.) It will be after the selection of this jewel class for the spirit plane that the Divine blessings under the New Covenant with Messiah as Mediator will be poured out upon Israel and through Israel, represented in their ancient worthies, "princes in all the earth," (Psa. 45:16) upon all people.
No Competition in This.
To those who thus see the Divine program, there is no room for competition or strife. The saintly few will get their exalted blessing first, and such Jews and Gentiles as have appreciated the privilege will participate in the glories of that class. Then this class, as the "Bride" of Messiah (Psalm 45:10-16) will share with him his spiritual nature and exaltation and Kingdom. Then will come the earthly blessings to Israel first through the patriarchs, and through them it will extend to all of the earth--to every creature. Thus the blessing of the Lord will "fill the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep."
Where is there room for competition here, when once we rightly understand the matter? Those who choose the heavenly portion and the sacrifices necessary to obtain it should be admired by all mankind. The Scriptures declare that ultimately this will be the case. "He (Messiah--Head and Body) will be admired by all them that believe in that day." Nor need the Christian envy the Jew his share in God's favor and blessing and promises. We have failed in the past to rightly divide the Word of God--failed to see its different parts and different classes; hence the strife of words and persecutions unto death. The saintly class, grasping its heavenly promises by faith, prefer not the earthly good things. The earthly class prefers the blessings to be accomplished through restitution and desire not the heavenly things. Thus all strife between intelligent Jews and intelligent Christians should be at an end. Their hopes are different and yet they interlock and intertwine. The fulfillment of the one is vitally connected with the fulfillment of the other.
Avoid Christian Sects.
Jews in the past have avoided Christian sects, chiefly the Catholics, because they counted them their enemies and recognized that much of their persecution came from professed Christians. Slowly they are coming to realize that the civilizing [OV120] influences of the past century are accomplishing changes with the rising generation and thus destroying, to some extent, the ground for their former bitterness against Christians. This is proper. Superstition and bitterness and strife, based upon the things of the past, should be set aside. No one can afford to nurse either the superstition or the bitterness of the past.
Would it, then, be proper for Jews, now forgetting and forgiving the past, to intermarry with Christians and to participate in "union" services or to become members of Christian sects, Catholic or Protestant?
We answer that such a course would assuredly be wrong: because Christian sects neither represent the Christian hope nor the Jewish hope. Here and there (in all the denominations of Christendom, so far as we may know) are members of the saintly class, the Bride of Messiah. But they are out of sympathy with the institutions with which they are connected. Even while attending their services, their hearts are on a higher plane than the masses. These nominal Christian sects are merely the outside; the saintly few are the kernel of the inside. The saintly few would be far better separated from the sects and would make much better progress in the study of God's Word and in the development of saintship if they stood entirely free from human institutions.
This being the case, we assuredly would not advise the Jews to join these institutions nor to accept their confusing doctrines, which the Scriptures symbolically refer to as Babylonish--confused.
God has separated the Jewish nation from the remainder of the world that they may be his witnesses to men. Their national preservation for more than thirty centuries, in harmony with the Divine promise is itself a miracle. God has indeed led them by a way which they knew not, even as he foretold. Their very perversity, as he foretold, will in the end witness to his Divine supervision of their affairs. Their stubbornness, or, as the Scriptures say, their stiff-neckedness, will eventually show the mercy of God through his dealing with them. He has not brought them down through the long period of three thousand years of separation with a view to their now amalgamating with either Christians or Gentiles, with either Catholics or Protestants.
Israel's promises are not only earthly but Jewish--they are to be the first of the earth or world peoples to experience the blessings of restitution favor. In order to be ready for that favor, they must continue Jewish up to the time of the manifestation of Messiah, as the Scriptures foretell. As the elect, saintly few gathered out of all nations to be Messiah's Bride are a people for a purpose, so also the small nation of Israel in an earthly people for the Divine purpose and to show forth the praises of Jehovah and of Messiah in due time. The few of their number who, by saintly and sacrificial lives, will become members of Messiah's Bride, will in no way invalidate the blessings that are subsequently to come to the bulk of their nation, if they continue Jews indeed--inspired by the faith of Abraham and the Messianic hopes of the Prophets.
But if they abandon Abraham's faith and their share in the Abrahamic promise and their hopes set forth through the Prophets, then, whatever their lineage, they are not Jews in the Scriptural sense of the term; and their practise of circumcision is merely a farce. And the perpetuation of a worship in which they no longer believe is sacrilege.
Thus, Jews who believe nothing of the Divine testimony--who have repudiated Abraham and the Prophets, Moses and the Law, and who are agnostics and who merely observe forms and ceremonies called Jewish in a hypocritical manner, might just as well, and without any greater hypocrisy, join any of the different Christian sects, with which they are just as much in harmony and just as much out of harmony as with the Law and the Prophets. But those Jews who believe in the Abrahamic promise, in God's testimony through the Prophets and in the message of Moses and the Law, must not, cannot, identify themselves with any other nation or with any other religion. To do so would be to stultify themselves and to discredit themselves as Jews, and to cut themselves off from those special earthly promises which, in the Divine arrangement, have been theirs since Abraham's day, and which are now about to be fulfilled.
[OV121]
PASTOR RUSSELL'S REPLY TO CARDINAL
GIBBONS' SERMON
CARDINAL GIBBONS' sermon, widely published, attracted a great deal of attention amongst Protestants as well as Catholics. What will Protestantism say to this? was the query. We have heard but one Protestant response, and that, properly enough, from the pen of the best and most widely known Protestant minister in the world-- Pastor Russell of Brooklyn Tabernacle, New York. We place his reply immediately following Cardinal Gibbons' presentation, assured that it will be interesting to our Protestant, as well as our Catholic, readers:
Pastor Russell Congratulates the Cardinal.
It falls to my lot to respond to Cardinal Gibbons' sermon on "A Plea for United Christendom," in which he urges very forcefully that there is but one Church, and that, therefore, all Protestants should abandon their sectarian attitude and join the Roman Catholic Church. The reply falls to my lot, because, although I stand free and independent of all Protestant sects and parties, my brethren of the ministry in various denominations of Protestantism would find it rather awkward and difficult to acknowledge that there is but one true Church, and, in the same breath to acknowledge that their denomination is no more that one Church than is any other sect.
I am very pleased with Cardinal Gibbons' kindly moderation in the handling of the subject. It contrasts very forcibly with the terrible times of the past, when Roman Catholics on the one hand and various Protestant sects on the other, waged an indirect and internecine strife to the death in the name of God and of our Redeemer and of righteousness. Surely what all intelligent people need is to abandon foolish prejudices, hypocrisies and superstitions of the past, and to come together as true followers of the Nazarene. Everything which points in this direction is to be appreciated, whether coming from the lips of Cardinal Gibbons or from others. Surely we should all desire the Truth, and desiring it, should seek it in God's Word, of which the Master said, "Thy word is Truth."
Agrees with Cardinal Gibbons.
I am pleased to say that I agree most heartily with Cardinal Gibbons' presentation in almost every particular. Unquestionably sectarianism is wholly out of accord with the teachings of the Scriptures. Assuredly St. Paul rebuked the Corinthian brethren because they presented a divided front, saying, I am of Paul; I am of Apollos; I am of Peter, etc. St. Paul's reply to this was that it was proof of carnality, of fleshly minds and proof of an unspiritual state. All Christians are coming to realize this--Catholic and Protestant --although it is but a few years since some claimed that sectarianism was a positive advantage; that it led to a greater zeal and energy in the Divine service than if all were agreed. All who are conversant with history understand what I mean when I say that God has been pleased to permit an illustration of--first, a united Christendom, and, secondly, a divided Christendom. For long centuries there was practically but the one Church in Europe, the Roman Catholic. The results were surely not all that could have been desired. That unity of Church brought neither secular nor religious education, nor did it bring to the world the Millennium promised as the great desireratum of humanity. Rather in that long period we see that ignorance and superstition held the reins. During the last few centuries we have had the opportunity of testing the division of Christendom into various sects and parties. While the results are not satisfactory, while the condition is not what God's Word prompts us [OV122] to desire and expect, this divided condition has certainly tended toward greater freedom of thought, greater liberty from ignorance and superstition.
So, then, when we think of the Church, both Catholics and Protestants agree that we should not desire such a unity as prevailed during the period in history known as "the dark ages." The unity we seek and pray for is a knowledge--enlightened and more sanctified unity, which will not require to be maintained through the arm of civilized power, and the rack and thumb-screw and stake. Our prayers and desires should go up for the kind of liberty mentioned in the Bible--"the liberty wherewith Christ makes free"--"the liberty of the sons of God."
The Perplexing Question.
So, then, dissatisfied with the sectarian divisions, and strife, and equally dissatisfied with the compulsory union of the past, and, convinced, nevertheless, that the Bible teaches the unity of the Church, we ask: How may this scriptural unity be attained--the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace and love, which maintains its own liberty and grants the same to others? Where shall we find; How shall we obtain; by what process shall we accomplish this unity? We agree with the Cardinal that our Lord speaks of himself in the Scriptures as the one Shepherd of the one flock of this Age and the Supervisor of the one fold. We agree that there is but the one Church, for whom the Master prayed during his dying hour--"That they all may be one in us." We agree also that the Apostle speaks of the one Church, likening it to a human body, over which there is the one Head, and of which all are members. We agree that there are not many bodies, but one; not many heads, but One. We agree, also, that there is but the one true Vine of the Father's right hand planting, and that this refers to Christ, the parent stock, and to his true members, the branches. We agree, also, that as there is only one Lord, so there is but one faith, and, additionally, that there is but one baptism.
Agreeing with all these Scriptural premises laid down by Cardinal Gibbons, we must, nevertheless, dispute his conclusion, that this one Church which Christ declared he would build upon the rock of Truth, and which would grow to a glorious temple composed of living stones, of which St. Peter was one, is the Roman Church, just as we disagree with our Baptist friends when they tell us that the Baptist Church is the one Church. Equally we disagree with our Presbyterian and Methodist, Lutheran and Congregational systems when they each protest that they fill these requirements--that they are the one Church. Our contention is that every one who turns his back upon sin; who accepts of Jesus as his Redeemer and Savior, and who approaches the Father in full consecration through Jesus, and who receives the beginning of the holy spirit of God-- all such are the brethren of Jesus and sons of God whether they join the Roman Catholic, the Congregational, the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian or other human systems. Our contention is that none of these human systems, Catholic or Protestant, is recognized by the Bible--none of them is recognized of God. They are all human institutions --originated by men and maintained by men--sometimes good men and sometimes bad men have had to do with their organization and its maintenance. Indeed, we hold that such a reformed, consecrated believer is equally a child of God in whatever denomination he may be, or if he be outside of all denominational walls or creeds. It is our contention that the various creeds of Christendom have been so many stumbling blocks and hindrances to honest souls who sought their God and the light of his Word. True, they may have assisted in some particulars, as well as they may have done injury in other respects. All the same, none of these institutions has Divine authority. None of them is sanctioned by the Word of God, the Bible. They are one and all built upon false assumptions.
Which is the True Church?
According to the Bible we may all find the answer we are seeking--an explanation of what and where is the true Church. In the Scriptures it is described as "the Church of the Firstborns, whose names are written in Heaven." (Heb. 12:23.) Will our Protestant friends claim that their Church roll corresponds to that written in [OV123] Heaven in the Lamb's Book of Life? Would Christian friends of any denomination dare to make such a claim? Most assuredly, No. We all realize that at very most the various sects and parties of Christendom are composed of wheat and tares, and that, so far as human judgment can discern, the tares are vastly in the majority.
The Scriptures declare that the Lord knoweth them that are His! The intimation is that no one but the Lord certainly, truly, knows which are the true sheep and which are the goats in sheep's clothing. We are exhorted not to judge one another. "Condemn not that ye be not condemned." Each heart is Scripturally exhorted to have its own fellowship with God, not through synods or presbyteries, not through priests or popes. Every branch is to be vitally united to the Vine; every Christian, every member of the true Church, is to be vitally united to Christ. In that very parable our Lord declares that every branch in him that bears not fruitage of the Spirit in love, the Father will cut off in membership. Thus from the standpoint of Divine wisdom and knowledge, the Church of Christ in the earth is composed only of saints--only of those who have fled away from sin, who by faith have laid hold upon the Redeemer and who have consecrated their lives unto death in the Divine service--and of these only such as maintain this standing and bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
So, then, without attempting a personal identification of the branches of the Vine, we may surely know that they are very few. We may surely know that the nominal membership of the various sects contain comparatively few of these saintly ones, who alone have Divine recognition as being "the Church of the Firstborns whose names are written in heaven"--fruit bearing branches in the true Vine--living stones in the temple of God imbued with the Holy Spirit--active members in the Spirit-begotten Body of Christ.
To this conclusion the words of Scripture agree, assuring us that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that go in thereat." They assure us again that these favored few number not many great, not many rich or learned, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the Kingdom. They assure us that this Kingdom class must all be footstep followers of Jesus; as he said, "If any one would be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, that where I am, there shall my disciple be." And again He said, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."
Christian Union Never Lost.
From this standpoint we perceive that the great masses, Catholic and Protestant, are not, and never were, the Church of Christ--they deceived themselves. They have been children of this world, not spirit begotten New Creatures in Christ; they have not been living stones in the temple, not branches of the true Vine, not members of the "little flock." They have been worldly people with religious sentiments and good desires who misunderstood that great teaching of the Bible--that only the sanctified are in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. What has been done by these large numbers of well-meaning but mistaken people in the way of organizing churches, lodges, banks, etc., had nothing whatever to do with the great organization which God effected eighteen centuries ago, and which has persisted as a unit in the world ever since.
The true Church has never been divided, because each member of it is united with the Lord, the Head, and, through Him, united to every other "member of his Body, which is the Church," the "little flock." In this one Church, there has always been maintained one Lord Jesus, one faith, His Word of promise, one baptism-- the baptism of consecration into His death --to suffer with Him that, by and bye, we may reign with him.
The Hidden Mystery.
Does some one say, Where is the history of this Church? We answer, in the language of the Apostles, that "the world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not." The world of Jesus' day were the professed religionists; yet they knew not the great religious Teacher and Redeemer whom God had sent, and they crucified Him. Similarly all the way down, the great religious teachers of the various systems have not [OV124] known, have not recognized the "members of the Body of Christ" a bit more than the Jews recognized the Head of that Body.
This is the very point which St. Paul emphasized. He declares that the fact, as well as the philosophy, of the Church being members of Christ is to the world-- both the religious and the irreligious world --a hidden mystery; it is outside of their philosophy, their theory, their understanding. Hence it is that the most saintly characters, both in Catholicism and Protestantism, have been martyrs, as Jesus was, as St. Stephen was, as all the Apostles were, and all the faithful during the intermediate centuries were, and as some may yet be if an outward union be effected such as once prevailed--in the "Dark Ages."
Counterfeiting the True Church.
If now we declare that, to a certain extent, the true Church has been counterfeited, both by Catholics and Protestants, let no one take offense and suppose that we are wishing to speak unkindly. We do not charge that these counterfeits of the true Church were made knowingly or intentionally, but merely that the Church, coming under the control of brilliant minds not spirit-begotten, not heaven-enlightened, misread the Word of God, misinterpreted it, and followed their misinterpretations.
Notice, for instance, the Roman Catholic Church. The average Roman Catholic does not know that he is not a member of the Church. But Cardinal Gibbons will not deny it, nor will any of the ecclesiastics. Their teaching, most explicitly, is that the Church is composed of the Pope and the other religious instructors, and that the common people are not members of the Church, but, as they style them, "children of the Church."
Thus, the Catholic Church appropriates to itself the words of Jesus respecting the "little flock," etc.; they apply those Scriptures to the clergy, and not to the congregation. This is the secret of Papacy's great mistake. In their ecclesiastical system they have a counterfeit of the true Church. And because the Scriptures declare that the Lord's faithful "little flock," "the Church of the living God whose names are written in Heaven," will remain with Christ, therefore Papacy claims, on the strength of that promise, the right to reign with imperial power and Heavenly authority over its kingdoms of earth. And it has been Papacy's endeavor to carry out this erroneous reasoning, and to make good its counterfeit of the true Church and her work, that has led to so many grievous difficulties, persecutions, wars, turmoils.
The True Reign of the Saints.
If Papacy has the counterfeit of the true Church and the counterfeit of the true reign, what does the Bible teach respecting the genuine? This: That the faithfulness of the unknown, disesteemed, rejected of men, saintly followers in Jesus' footsteps, constitutes their schooling, testing, preparation for a share in the Kingdom with Christ their Lord. When the full number of the elect Church, predestinated of the Father, shall have been thus gathered out of the world and finally glorified--then the Kingdom to which they are heirs will be established, and they shall be joint heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, King of kings and Lord of lords. His Kingdom will rule the world, not by guns or swords, not by racks or burning at the stake and inquisitionary torments, but by heavenly power, which then will have full control of earth's affairs.
Children of the Church.
What our Catholic friends have is merely a foreshadowing--or, shall I use the harsher word counterfeit--of the Truth respecting the Church as a mother and certain children. The Scriptures teach that, in the new order of things, when Christ shall take to himself his great power and institute his Millennial Kingdom for the blessing and uplifting of mankind, he will have a Bride--the Church--"The Bride, the Lamb's Wife." (Rev. 21:9.) And the Scriptures further represent that the glorified Jesus, who is the heavenly Bridegroom, and the glorified Church, who is the heavenly Bride, will, figuratively, beget children. That is to say, all through the thousand years of the reign of righteousness the glorified Jesus will be the everlasting Father, or Giver of everlasting life, on the earthly plane to Adam, and all of his children who will accept it on the [OV125] terms of the Kingdom. Then the Church will be the mother or nourisher and caretaker of all mankind to uplift them, instruct them, develop them, in the ways of righteousness--to bring as many as will prove willing up to the full perfection of human nature and life everlasting. All refusing this uplift and rejecting the grace of God will be destroyed in the Second Death. St. Peter tells us that their destruction will be similar to that of the brute beast that perisheth.--2 Pet. 2:12.
Are There Protestant Counterfeits?
Although Protestants repudiate the Roman Catholic idea that the clergy alone constitute the Church, and that the people are the children of the Church, nevertheless in many denominations we see this insidious error in a slightly different form. This is notably true of the Episcopal Church, which puts everything in the way of government into the hands of the clergy and treats the laity, to a considerable [OV126] degree, as though they were children unable to comprehend spiritual things. The Methodist-Episcopal Church follows closely in the same line of procedure. The Presbyterian and Lutheran systems also quite particularly differentiate the clergy from the laity, even though the laity be given some apparent recognition in the ecclesiastical boards. This is done usually for a reward or for the purpose of securing financial or legal advice. But the laity is not supposed to have an equal standing with the clergy in respect to spiritual things.
Congregationalists and Baptists and Disciples most nearly recognize an equality between the clergy and laity and that the entire Church of God, whoever they may be, are a Royal Priesthood. Yet even with these congregational bodies there is an attempt made to separate between clergy and laity, and to hold all the spiritual power and authority in the hands of the clergy. This is done along financial lines in the Congregational Church through the so-called Congregational Union. In the Baptist Church the ministers combine in what is known as a Baptist Ministers' Association, which holds the reins over the people as parents over children, and tells them whom they may call for a Pastor and whom not--whom they are willing to ordain as their Pastor and whom they will refuse. Thus the same spirit is manifested in all these earthly systems, and by it they are all distinctly differentiated from the true Church and her Scriptural regulations which declare, All ye are brethren--and One is your Master, even Christ, and One is your Pope, or Father, even God.
So, then, we ask Cardinal Gibbons to consider with us the Scriptural teaching which we have presented, namely, that the Royal Priesthood is composed exclusively of saints, regardless of whether they belong to their clergy or laity, or are to be found elsewhere. "The Lord knoweth them that are His." We ask the Cardinal to consider that this one Church is indivisible; that the Heavenly Father is the husbandman of this true Vine; that he does not suffer any to remain as branches, members, of the true Church unless they bring forth the true fruit of the Vine. We ask the Cardinal to consider the Scriptural teaching that this saintly class, already vitally united with Jesus, are now the espoused virgin class mentioned by St. Paul (2 Cor. 11:3), and that they are waiting for the completion of their number when the Heavenly Bridegroom, at his Second Coming, will receive them to himself in glory. By the power of the First Resurrection they will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and be with their Lord, and like Him. Then, as the Scriptures declare, will come the marriage of the Lamb, "for his Wife hath made herself ready." And shortly after that will come the Millennial Kingdom and the times of regeneration mentioned by our Lord, when his faithful will sit with him in the Throne and the regeneration of Adam's race, the giving to them of new life from the Life-Giver, will begin.
As for the great and prosperous human institutions which are more or less duplicating the Lord's Kingdom all over the world, these also, in the Scriptures, are called vines--the vine of the earth, in contrast with the Vine of the Heavenly Father's right-hand planting. It is not for us to determine how much good and how much harm these earthly churches, vines of the earth, have accomplished. That the Lord will declare in his own season, but he tells us that the grapes borne by these vines--anger, malice, hatred, envy, strife, evil-speaking, etc.--will overflow the wine-press of the wrath of God in the near future, and bring upon the world that great time of trouble, which all may see upon the horizon and which the Lord declares will be such a time of trouble as the world has never before known. (Daniel 12:1; Matt. 24:21.) So, then, in some respects, we agree with Cardinal Gibbons' discourse, and, in other respects, we have a certain view of the situation, as just related.
[OV127]
AN INFANT ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD
TO BE ELECTROCUTED
PASTOR RUSSELL EXPLAINS
"THENCEFORTH there shall be no more (death of) an infant of days, nor of an old man who hath not filled his days: for the dying one shall be but a child at a hundred years old--a sinner a hundred years old he shall be accursed"--cut off from life.
These words have long puzzled Bible students. And they still puzzle such as have not recognized that as the present age is devoted to the gathering of a saintly and elect class, the coming age will be for the blessing of the world in general through the elect church. Human conditions, as well as conditions prevailing in the physical earth under Messiah's reign, will be very different from what they are at present. The Scripture under consideration cites us to one of the peculiarities of the new age, the increased length of life. Then every one who will conform to the laws of the Kingdom may live at least a thousand years. And if then he shall stand the tests of Divine requirement he may be granted eternal life. On the other hand, the wilfully rebellious continually needing to be curbed and restrained will be cut off at the close of a hundred years' probation. Even then they will be but as children as compared to the remainder of the race.
Was it not thus in the days of Adam before sin and depravity had reduced the average of human life to its present low ebb? And should it surprise us to find a restoration to this condition in the future? Should we not remember that the coming age is styled the "times of restitution of all things."--Acts 3:19.
It was common in Father Adam's day that a father should have his first child at a hundred years or over. In other words, at about the century mark, childhood ceased and the period of maturity began. With the weakening of the race we have had much experience crowded into few years; yet we all sometimes recognize that if we lived to be a hundred years old all of the past experience would be but a schooling of preparation for future centuries of maturity.
No end of confusion has been created by the intent of well-meaning people to apply these prophecies as the reward of the Church in heaven. Nothing in the Scriptures warrants us in thinking that there will be spiritual, heavenly sheep and oxen, wolves and lions, vines and houses, planting and building. Those who reject the clear Bible teaching respecting a Messianic reign of righteousness cannot understand the Bible at all. Not a single passage of the Old Testament tells of heavenly hopes or promises. Only a few of them teach heavenly things at all, and then indirectly. As for instance in the types of the Old Testament the garments of the High Priest, glorious and beautiful, symbolize, we believe, the heavenly grandeur, honors and glories of Messiah during the period of His reign.
Similarly, God's promise to Abraham declares that His seed, His posterity, should be as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the seashore. Nothing in this statement would necessarily teach a heavenly state or condition. Only by the aid of the New Testament and the Holy Scriptures' illumination can we see that two seeds of Abraham are distinctly referred to, the stars indirectly implying the spiritual seed, while the sands of the seashore refer to Abraham's natural seed. As it is written: "I have constituted Thee a father of many nations like unto God." So the spiritual seed of Abraham is now being developed. With its completion this age [OV128] will end, and the natural seed of Abraham will return to special favor and become the leading nation of the world under the guidance and direction of the spiritual and invisible, yet all-powerful Kingdom, of Messiah. The blessing through natural Israel, will gradually extend to every nation, in that the door will be opened by which all nations may come into and become a part of Abraham's seed, and thus into harmony with Messiah's Kingdom. Whosoever refuses this great privilege and blessing of Messiah's Kingdom will be destroyed from amongst the people in the Second Death. Consequently by the close of Messiah's reign of righteousness, not only will all the willing and obedient have been lifted up to perfection of human nature, but they will all, of every nation, have become the seed of Abraham. And the earth, their perpetual inheritance, will have been rescued from the curse and thenceforth forever be the Paradise of God--Eden restored.
Hundred Year Old Children.
Centenarians of the present time are few, and they by no means are like children. Usually they are wrinkled and haggard. We are to remember, however, the Bible record that several of the earlier members of Adam's race lived nine hundred years, or, rather, they were more than nine hundred years in coming fully under the sentence against sinners. "By one man's disobedience sin entered into the world, and death as a result of sin. And thus death passed upon all men, because all are sinners." (Romans 5:12.) Gradually, and especially since the flood, when a great change took place in our cosmogony, human longevity has decreased, while mental, moral and physical ailments have increased. In confirmation of this, and correspondingly in contradiction of the Evolution theory, we find that the ancients were stronger than we mentally as well as physically; for they intermarried brothers with sisters and cousins without injury, whereas to-day the mental weakness of the race is such that one out of every one hundred and fifty adults is in an insane asylum, and the marriage of brothers and sisters is prohibited, and even the marriage of second cousins is disapproved and held responsible for increasing weak-mindedness.
We see, then, that our text describing Messiah's Kingdom merely explains that restitution blessings will recover mankind from the effects of the fall, so that it shall then be as it was in Adam's day--that full human rightness, maturity, will be reached in a century, and that a man dying then would be dying in childhood as compared with the remainder of the race. The further guarantee that none will die even at a hundred years of age, except willful sinners who, refusing to submit themselves to the regulations of Messiah's Kingdom, will then be cut off from life as unworthy of any further favor at the hands of the great Redeemer--Messiah-- all of whose dealings will represent Divine Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power.
Man's Years as a Tree's.
The Scriptures tell us that under Messiah's Kingdom the days of a man shall be as the days of a tree. And it is believed that some trees live to be at least a thousand years old. This is God's provision for every man--every member of the human family after He shall have accomplished the work of this Gospel age--the selection of the spiritual seed of Abraham, typified by the priests and Levites, "The Church of the Firstborn whose names are written in heaven."
Messiah's Kingdom is to dominate the earth for a thousand years, with a view to blessing Adam and all of his posterity --with a view to uplifting them from sin and degradation and death. The uplifting influences will begin at once following the great time of trouble with which the Kingdom will be inaugurated. The judgments of the Lord will be abroad in the earth and the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. None shall longer need to say to his neighbor or his brother, "Know thou the Lord; for all shall know Him, from the least unto the greatest of them," for "the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth."--Isaiah 11:9.
Whoever, then, by obedience to the laws of the Kingdom will avail himself of the blessed privileges of restitution (Acts 3:19-21) will not only be helped upward out of mental, moral and physical imperfection, [OV129] step by step toward perfection, but so long as he progresses, he may live-- clear down to the end of that blessed thousand years. If we had never seen trees; if our own experiences had been with vegetation such as perishes within a year, we might have difficulty in believing some one who would tell us of having seen trees centuries old. Such a statement would seem as unreasonable to us as to tell us that humanity could live for a thousand years or forever.
Have we not indeed seen children old and wrinkled looking, yet only in their teens? And have we not seen others cheerful, fresh and comparatively young-looking at sixty and seventy? Let us assure ourselves that every good promise of the Holy Scriptures will surely have fulfillment. Not one jot or tittle of the Divine promise shall fail. It will surely be true then that when Messiah's Kingdom shall have fully taken control of earth's affairs, a person dying at a hundred years of age would be dying in infancy, because, according to the Divine arrangement, obedience on his part would enable him to live to the very close of the Millennium.
All Unrighteousness is Sin.
At the present time, God "winks" at much of the wrong-doing that there is in the world. He does not interfere with it. But of course every transgression carries with it naturally more or less of a depraving influence on the transgressor's mind and body. The conscience is the most tender and the most important element of our human nature. Whoever violates it, whoever injures it, much or little, will proportionately be disadvantaged in the future, and will have all the more difficulty of rising up gradually out of his degradation and weaknesses, even with all the helps that will then be available. Thus will be fulfilled the Scriptural declaration, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap." With all mankind redeemed, there will be nothing whatever of the past chargeable against any on the books of Divine Justice. The great "High Priest" by his better sacrifices, will have made full satisfaction to the demands of Justice, but the weaknesses, mental, moral and physical, resulting from more or less willful and deliberate sin, must still be reckoned on, and thus every idle word and every idle thought, every idle and vicious action of the present time, by making its mark upon the characters of men, is providing for corresponding difficulties on their part in that glorious day of their opportunity.
God proposes that through Messiah's reign He will give an opportunity to human sinners to return to harmony with their Maker. But they must show their desire for harmony with Him by responding to the blessed arrangements He will provide through Messiah's reign. Every effort for righteousness will receive its reward, as promised. The thousand years appointed for the purpose by Divine Wisdom is surely sufficient. The earth and its inhabitants will be grandly perfect beyond our ability to describe or even to fully imagine, since we have never known a sinless Eden nor a sinless human being.
The suggestion of our text is that the great Messiah will not temporize for the entire period of His reign with those who do not show a proper appreciation of opportunities when fully brought in contact with them and clearly understanding the terms of Divine grace. But one hundred years is quite a considerable period of probation, and surely every reasonable mind will concede that so long a delay in meting out the full penalty of sin, Second Death, manifests the extreme limit of reasonable mercy.
The Church's Triumph Shorter.
The Church, whose trial is in progress during this Gospel age, receives individually a much shorter period of probation than our text declares will be granted to mankind in the future. God's saintly people are expected to develop character and to approve themselves to God as "overcomers," within a very brief space of life. And not only so, but they are required to "walk by faith and not by sight." They merely have God's Word as respects His Justice and Love and gracious plans, while, in the next age, the world will have the actuality instead of the promise--the world will walk by sight.
"The glory of the Lord shall be revealed [OV130] and all flesh shall see it together." (Isaiah 40:5.) The world during Messiah's reign will be privileged to walk in a highway of holiness, from which all the stumbling stones will have been gathered out. But the overcomers of the Church class are required to walk in the narrow way, steep, narrow, rugged and beset with snares of the Adversary. "For we are not ignorant of his snares."--2 Corinthians 2:11.
We are not to forget, however, that these differences between the Church and the world are fully offset by the differences of reward. The overcomers of the Church are to be rewarded with glory, honor, immortality, "the Divine nature," and be joint-heirs in the Kingdom as members of the great Messiah. The world is to have no such change of nature from human to spirit, but is to have the earthly nature restored or perfected in them, if obedient, and to enjoy the earthly Eden. Truly God's ways are equal. "True and righteous are Thy ways, Lord God Almighty! Who shall not come and worship before Thee when Thy righteous dealings are made manifest?"--Revelation 15:4.
Humanity's Final Test.
The Church's test takes place in the present life. And in each member thereof the matter of worthiness or unworthiness of eternal life on the spirit plane for all time is determined at death. Not so with humanity in general. As we have just seen, some may live for only a hundred years, and then be cut off in the Second Death, because found unworthy of further opportunity. Others, by availing themselves of the privileges and rendering obedience to the laws of the Kingdom, may live to the very close of the thousand years, and be found unworthy of eternal life. Still others may so fully appreciate Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power and may become so obedient thereto that God will be pleased to grant them eternal life. Their days, their lives, will be far more than the days of a tree.
The world of mankind, at the conclusion of Messiah's reign of righteousness, will have attained again the perfection originally enjoyed by Father Adam. Like him they will be in Eden, which then will be world-wide. Those perfect human beings will be required to stand a test--to demonstrate, to prove their absolute loyalty to God and His righteous laws, as Adam was tried, tested, proven in Eden. As Adam was promised eternal life if his test proved him loyal to his Maker, so his restored race will have before them the offer of eternal life if they shall manifest their obedience satisfactorily.
Outwardly, of course, the whole world will be obedient throughout the entire thousand years, because the reign of righteousness will be so absolute that every good deed will have a reward, and every evil deed will have a punishment, with matters reduced to such a certainty and with the death of the sinner a hundred years old, the whole world would quickly come to a condition of thorough obedience to the Divine requirements. Thus it is written: "Unto Him (Messiah) every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. To the world itself there would probably appear to be no reason why any further tests of loyalty should be imposed. But God seeketh truth in the inward parts, in the heart as well as in the outward life. When Messiah, having accomplished the object of his reign of righteousness shall deliver over the perfect world from his administration of Mercy to the Father's administration of Justice (1 Cor. 15:25-28) the latter will not grant eternal life to the perfected men, but instead will submit them to a test which will determine fully their heart loyalty or disloyalty. None but those who will stand that great test will be allowed to have eternal life--all others will die the Second Death.
Satan Loosed from Prison.
We are not informed of the particulars of the test that will then be applied to mankind. We merely have the figurative declaration that Satan, sin and everything which Satan represents, will be loosed for a little season at the close of Messiah's reign. (Rev. 20:7-10.) The world full of perfected humanity as the sand of the seashore will all be subjected to the test. But how many or what proportion of the whole will prove loyal and what proportion disloyal we are not informed.
All that we know on the subject, and all that is necessary for us to know is that the [OV131] trial will be thorough, and just, and that all found faithful will have eternal life, and that all found unfaithful will be counted as followers of Satan and with him will be destroyed in the Second Death. The test which God will apply will be so searching, so thorough, that although his creatures will still be free moral agents, he is able to guarantee that thenceforth "there shall be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying, because all the former things of sin and death shall have passed away."
God has glorious prospects, therefore, for the non-elect--prospects in which Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power, fully coordinated, will be abundantly manifested and all the families of the earth be blessed. But if these great blessings for the non-elect are to be esteemed, how much more shall those whose eyes and ears are opened appreciate the length and breadth and height and depth of the Love of God and His provision of glory, honor and immortality or his elect Church? To all such I give the Apostle's exhortation, Let us make our calling and election sure, by so running the race of life that we may become worthy to attain the crown of life in joint-heirship with our Redeemer-- Messiah in His glorious Kingdom.
The Reward, Life--The Punishment,
Death.
Not a word is said about the hundred-year-old-sinner being sent to eternal torment, just as there is not a word said in the Bible to the effect that Adam or his children were condemned to eternal torments. The sentence upon Adam which his race shares by heredity was a death sentence. This just but awful penalty has wrought havoc with our race--sickness, sorrow, pain, dying, death.
God's mercy has provided the redemption of Adam and his race through His Son, Who died, the Just for the unjust. The death of Jesus is the price which will eventually secure the release of Adam and all of his posterity from the death sentence and give to them resurrection privileges provided through Messiah's Kingdom reign.
But every one who has been enlightened and brought to a clear knowledge of God and to the opportunities provided for his salvation from sin and death is more responsible for the manner in which he accepts or refuses "the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." As the willful, intelligent sinner in the Church now is sentenced to the Second Death (Rev. 6:6; 10:28-31), so, our text tells us, it will be with the masses of mankind during the Millennial Age. If they willfully reject reconciliation to God, they will die the Second Death. God has provided a redemption and recovery from the first death, but assures us that the Second Death will be an eternal one.
Electrocution.
Instant death from electric shock will be the method of electrocuting of such willful sinners during the Millennium, and not hanging nor decapitation. Thus it was that in olden times two of Aaron's sons, having violated their relationship with God, and having disobeyed him, were smitten to death. Fire from the Lord smote them--an electric flash. We may be sure that torture will not be needlessly inflicted on such. They will lose everything, but will not be tortured. Stripes or punishments, chastisements, are sometimes used of the Lord, but always in a reformatory manner. "He chasteneth every son whom He receiveth." He chastens none others--none for whom the hope of chastising would accomplish no blessing. Such will be smitten down in the Second Death.
[OV132]
CARDINAL GIBBONS AND PASTOR RUSSELL
(The wide interest that has been aroused throughout the country by the series of admirable articles by the Reverend C. T. Russell, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle, published in the Overland Monthly, has been heightened by that distinguished clergyman's reply in the February Overland to Cardinal Gibbons' notable sermon, "A Plea for United Christendom." Pastor Russell's reply has evoked much comment and many letters, among which the following, from Mr. Frank Schilling, a prominent attorney of San Francisco, is printed with the writer's consent. --EDITOR.
Reverend C. T. Russell, Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle, New York, N.Y. Reverend and Dear Sir:
Your reply to Cardinal Gibbons' sermon about the much desired Unity of the Christian Church, in the February number of the Overland Monthly impressed me by the scholarly manner in which you treat the subject and the gentlemanly criticism of the Cardinal's sermon as to matters which, from your point of view, undoubtedly, appear errors of the head rather than of the heart, for of the latter, you and the Cardinal seem to be animated by the same spirit which made Christ fix as the supreme law of Christianity the sentence "Love God above all, and thy neighbor as thyself."
Indeed, unprejudiced minds, such as yours and the Cardinal's, should find a true road to the much-desired union of all the Christian churches. As a layman and lawyer I am, perhaps, not the most competent to suggest to ecclesiastics of high standing the solution of a vexed religious problem. But as truth may sometimes be discovered by a child even, and Divine Truth must ultimately furnish the key to the situation, it may well be that a common sense observation, on my part, may point out Divine Truth and furnish the key to a seemingly hopeless situation.
Indeed, Divine Truth is, in my opinion, the fundamental law of Christianity, and must be the guide of the Christian, who is to follow into the footsteps of the Savior. If it has been one of the principal purposes of Christ's mission on earth to reveal that truth, no one should believe that the Omnipotent and Eternal Guide, the Father of all, should have intended that truth to be solely known to the comparatively few followers and immediate acquaintances of Christ, and only during the brief period of less than thirty-three years; that after the demise of Christ, error should have tainted the treasure of wisdom left by Him, and that succeeding generations should have been forever excluded from the heritage of Divine Truth taught by the Redeemer. Do not all Christian denominations believe in the divinity of Christ, and designate Jesus, the son of God, as being one with the Father and the Holy Ghost? Is it incumbent upon God to err as mere mortals always will? Can Divine Providence not preserve unadulterated that which it held necessary for the human race to possess, and for the dissemination of which God, Himself, assumed human form? Did God not send the Holy Ghost to remain with us to the end of the days, and did not Christ, Himself, affirm that He would be with us? If it is conceded that it was the intention of the true and living God that His truth be known to all men of succeeding ages to the end of the world, it must have been but ordinary precaution on behalf of the Ruler of the Universe to preserve the truth that He had come in person to reveal to the human race through the words and examples of Jesus Christ.
[OV133]
Some depository of this Divine Truth necessarily must have been established by the God of ages to guide the elect by offering sufficient guarantee for the fact that such depository preserved the Divine Truth pure and unadulterated. Some authority must have stood out to all succeeding ages as the fortified depository of the revealed Divine Truth, for, otherwise, how could pure Christian souls have lived in strict accordance with the precepts and examples of the Redeemer?
Truly, if any man could imagine a self-satisfactory version of Christ's truth, would it have been necessary at all for Christ to have come in person to teach us how to live? Would such self-suitable imaginary belief in the alleged doctrines taught by Christ be sufficient to elevate our standard of morals to that which we see manifested by the true Christian believer, by "the First Born of the Fold?"
If we should be inclined to affirm that any doctrine of Christian belief not absolutely contrary to our own would bring about some results of good morals, would we not perform meritorious acts if we, in a measure, should live according to our own sweet pleasure, and if we were to guess at what we might believe, and to live in accordance with that belief in practice? Why, in that event, should we not live, taking, in the first place, nothing else more seriously into consideration than our own inclinations, greed and fondness for earthly enjoyment?
It follows from the foregoing that the Church of Christ must contain the depository of His Truth whatever else it may contain.
The dissemination of the Divine Truth reposed in that depository having been made by a direct agency of the living God, Jesus Christ, must remain infinitely necessary, salutary and perfect. In fact, no other measure is known to the Christian world by which the true and faithful believer may gauge and regulate his actions and curb his purely human inclinations and passions, but that law laid down by Jesus Christ, Himself, nearly 1900 years ago. History will teach its students that the Truth revealed by Jesus Christ has never been deviated from in only one Church at present existing. It is equally certain that none of the other existing Christian Churches, or any other of the various Christian denominations, antedates the Roman Catholic Church. The origin of this Church alone history does certify directly to the person of Jesus Christ, between the years of 30 and 33 of our era.
If it be, therefore, conceded that Jesus Christ taught only one system of Harmonious Truth and designated only one of his apostles as the Rock upon which He would build His Church, the depository of truth; if Christ did not say that he would build two churches or more, then there is only one Church of Christ, and all others are human imitations. Human reformations, certainly, could not improve upon the God-founded and God-preserved Institution.
Human agencies, with different doctrines from those taught by Christ are likely to have fallen in error. At all events, the human soul must look for guidance to its Maker. It has no right to assume that the Infinite and Eternal does err.
Christian Truth, such as dispensed from the depository of Christ, put into practice will have but one result, the happiness of mankind. It is therefore unbecoming to the great minds to attribute the misery brought about by non-performance of Christian duty, or the abuse of the ways and means of salvation, as the practical result of applied Christianity.
It is equally fatal to be blinded by prejudice, and it is unwise and unjust to condemn from the mere hearsay of a partisan, past centuries and their civilization. No one should sit in judgment about matters of which he has not the most intimate knowledge of facts and circumstances. In this respect, much is sinned against that period of our civilization known as the "Middle Ages." The most casual observer will concede that in those times the strong arm wielding the sword was often more respected than the cross and the Bible. The princes and nobles of the Middle Ages managed under all kinds of pretexts to oppress the poor and to levy tributes. Little they considered the Cross and the Divine Truth for which it stood. Frequently, the people of a whole nation were drawn away by force and violence from [OV134] the Church of Christ, which they heretofore had revered. Potentates, such as King Henry VIII of England, did not permit themselves to be trifled with when the vicar of Christ, speaking ex cathedra, refused to change the law of Christ deposited with the Church.
It is, finally, human nature to take things for granted from a mere rumor or hearsay, and to condemn the Middle Ages because we know little about the general happiness of the people then living. Often we are misled and err in our opinions by mere thoughtlessness.
I notice from your reply to the Cardinal that you are mistaken, dear and Reverend Sir, when you state that the Roman Catholics are taught to see Christ's Church represented in the ecclesiastics merely.
A Catholic child, who has received the most primitive Christian instructions, can inform you that the Church of Christ, as the Roman Catholic is taught it, consists of the blessed in heaven, the suffering souls in purgatory, and all men on earth who honestly seek to believe in Christ. In the Roman Catholic definition, good and faithful Protestants are members of that Church of Christ as well as Catholics, as long as they have not learned to know that the Catholic Church is the only church that Christ has founded and that no other church claims to have been founded by Christ directly. As long as they believe to have the true religion of Christ and to live up to Christ's doctrines and examples, Catholics are taught to regard such Protestants as their brothers and sisters in Christ. They are further taught that God is the Father of all men and the Creator of all things, and that when Christ declared the supreme law to be "Love thy God with thy whole heart and mind, and thy neighbor as thyself," He included not merely Christians, but Pagans and Gentiles as well.
Let there be no confusion, therefore, as to which Church is Christ's. Let us not be confused by the organizations established for the alleged purpose of diffusing the unadulterated doctrines of Christ. All of them, but one, intermingle truth with error, and do not constitute a safe and reliable guide for the Christian soul. The Catholic Church, lastly, besides the mere aim of leading its followers to happy eternity, holds out ways and means which, if employed, must bring about inevitably the greatest virtues and the finest morals.
May we, therefore, lay aside ancient
prejudices; may we approach to the study
of Christ's Church with a fair, impartial
and judicial mind, and the Millennium
amongst Christian Churches is surely to
dawn upon the present generation with
religious leaders, such as yourself, the
Pope and Cardinal Gibbons.
Yours very respectfully,
FRANK SHILLING.
Attorney and Counselor-at-Law.
THE MASTER'S TOUCH
IN the still lute the music lies unheard;
In the rough marble beauty hides unseen:
To make the music and the beauty, needs
The Master's touch, the Sculptor's chisel keen.
Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hand;
Let not the music that is in us die!
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us; nor let,
Hidden and lost, Thy form within us lie!
Spare not the stroke! do with us as Thou wilt!
Let there be naught unfinished, broken, marred;
Complete Thy purpose, that we may become
Thy perfect image, Thou our God and Lord!
[OV135]
THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL
BY PASTOR C. T. RUSSELL
MR. EDISON has taken time from his scientific investigations, which have centered chiefly in electricity, to take a look into things metaphysical and spiritual. In a magazine article recently, he discussed the immortality of the soul. He brought to his subject the reasoning and philosophical powers of a gift of brain accustomed to look more carefully than usual at the relationship and bearing of one principle upon another, one theory upon another, one fact upon another. Mr. Edison denies the immortality of the soul; he declares that he can see no facts in nature leading to any such conclusion. As a sample of his close reasoning on the subject we quote one of his statements, which he considers too self-evident to need proof. Indeed, we doubt not that Mr. Edison's position would be that human immortality is not to be assumed, in view of the fact that we are a dying race. We presume that his position is that the proofs must be sought in the opposite quarter--that man must be assumed to be mortal and that any disputing this position must give the proofs of his immortality. We quote Mr. Edison:
"A man's intelligence is the aggregate intelligence of the innumerable cells which form him--just as the intelligence of a community is the aggregate intelligence of the men and women who inhabit it. If you cut your hand, it bleeds. Then you lose cells, and that is quite as if a city lost inhabitants through some tremendous accident."
It will not do for us to claim that Mr. Edison is not a philosopher, because he disagrees with philosophers of the past. We must admit that his attainments in science have all been results of the exercise of a naturally philosophical mind, which for years has been trained in philosophical study, and that for this reason he has his splendid rank as a scientific man. On the contrary, we must admit that many of the philosophers of the past in their reasoning on theological questions were handicapped by dread of thumb-screws, racks, and other tortures of the "Dark Ages," as well as by certain ignorance and superstitions which, thank God, are gradually passing from the minds of all intelligent people. Indeed, we must remember that nearly all the philosophies as respects cosmogony and chemistry have proven themselves fallacious, and the latest researches of science astound us by threatening a revolution of the philosophies respecting astronomy. Perhaps philosophy has made progress in every other direction than along religious lines. And in this particular we note that the great majority of the learned have entirely abandoned the philosophies of their fathers and are known as "Higher Critics," "Evolutionists," etc. Only in the Catholic Church are the theological philosophies of a century ago given the slightest weight amongst the learned, although these theories, embodied in Protestant creeds, still hold a powerful sway in the minds of many Protestants who still like to think that what their fathers believed was infallible on every subject.
Meeting Mr. Edison's statement, above quoted, with such candor as the gentleman's intellectual prowess seems to justify, we must admit that there is a great deal of force and logic in his deduction. Mr. Edison has apostolic authority for considering man as made up of various members, each intimately related to the welfare and intelligence of the whole. St. Paul uses this argument in illustrating the true Church, "the Body of Christ." He likens one member to the hand; another to the foot; another to the eye, etc., and declares that each is necessary to the completeness and harmony of the whole, and [OV136] adds: So, also, is the Church.
We will not here follow the Apostle's argument to note particularly how Jesus is the Head of the Church; how every member is united to each other member and interested in each other member. We will take the same example of the human figure. It seems to justify the statement that a man's intelligence is represented in the intelligence of all his members. Human skill is related to human intelligence. Consequently the man who has lost his hands has less intelligence, less opportunity and less skill than previously. If he lose also his feet, his intelligence decreases proportionately. If he lose his sight, his hearing and his sense of smell, each loss diminishes his intelligence. A whole village of people, devoid of sight, hearing, taste, the sense of smell and of touch, would be a very unintelligent community. This, we understand to be Mr. Edison's argument, expressed in different terms. Mr. Edison's terms even seem appropriate if we take a sufficiently broad view of his language. To illustrate: If one lose a few drops of blood, the loss may make no perceptible impression upon his intelligence. But if he lose a quart of blood, his intelligence will be considerably diminished. Faintness, stupor, may be expected. This would seem to prove Mr. Edison's statement correct, and that the loss of a few drops of blood is really a loss, to some extent, of vital power, and hence a loss of intelligence, but in so small a degree as not to be appreciable to one in health.
In olden times we were told, and tried to believe it, that a dead man knew more than a living one. We were puzzled by the fact that a blow on the head might stun one to insensibility, but we were more puzzled when told that a heavier blow that would kill the man would enable him to know everything in an instant. The philosophy(?) of this was handed to us thus: The soul is the intelligent being, of which nobody knows very much. It is imprisoned in our mortal bodies and can operate in them only unsatisfactorily. The moment of death is the moment of release to the soul, which then can think and reason more soundly than when obliged to use the brain.
Many of us tried in childhood years to believe such unphilosophical philosophy. We asked for proofs, and were told that it was the voice of the Church's philosophers, and if we would doubt it, we would be damned to eternal misery. Believing this, and not willing to be doomed to eternal misery, many of us restrained ourselves, and that portion of our brain became well-nigh atrophied.
Even the religious found it difficult to believe in so immaterial a soul, and inquired: Why, then, a resurrection of the dead? Will the resurrection signify another real imprisonment of the soul and a decrease of intelligence, as this philosophy(?) would seem to imply? Some gave up the quest for knowledge in despair, and sought for something more intelligent outside of all the creeds and philosophies of "science falsely so-called." Others of us have held to the Word of God, and sought to see its philosophy, its teachings, and to harmonize them.
I am glad to belong to this growing class of Bible students who declare, Let God and His Word be true, though it disprove many of the theories we once believed and almost worshiped. (Rom. 3:4.) We want the Truth!
Mr. Edison and the Bible.
We are not personally acquainted with Mr. Edison, nor with his religious views, but we believe that his philosophical mind is turning quite into line with the teachings of the Bible respecting man and his future. We do not say that he has attained the Bible viewpoint, but merely that he has taken a good step in that direction. Without discounting good features contained in our own creeds, we must admit that many of them are thoroughly illogical and unscriptural. For instance, the theory that a human soul is an invisible entity specially created by God and full of Divine intelligence, and that this intelligent soul is introduced into the newborn child and is the real child--this is no longer reasonable or logical to us.
We wonder that our forefathers of the darker period, in their wonderful philosophies, did not see the absurdity of such a position. If it were true, would it not make the Almighty Creator a co-laborer [OV137] with fornicators and adulterers in the bringing into the world of illegitimate children? Still worse, does not this theory charge to the Almighty God of Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power the creation of idiots and mental imbeciles and moral degenerates? If the human parents merely bring human bodies into existence as receptacles for souls, which God individually and specifically creates in each instance, then not the parents, but the Almighty is responsible for all the degeneracy we see in the world: for it is the soul that is responsible, as all admit.
The First Man of the Earth.
The center of the mistake on this subject, handed to us from the philosophers of the Dark Ages is the assumption that the real man is the spirit being, the soul. St. Paul assures us to the contrary of this, saying: "The first man was of the earth, earthy." The Lord, through the Prophet David, declares the same truth, saying: "What is man that Thou art mindful of him...Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels." (Psa. 8:4,5.) The angels are the lowest in rank on the spirit plane, and man, although in God's image when perfect, was still lower than the angels in that he was not a spirit being, but a human, an earthly being--"of the earth, earthy."
The Scriptural proposition is, not that God made a body for man out of the dust of the earth and put a spirit man into that body, but that God made man of the dust of the earth, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (an animal life) and "man became a living soul"--an animal or earthly soul. In other words, the entire Adam became a living soul--a living being. That one man was subsequently made twain for the very purpose of propagating living souls in his own likeness. And thus for six thousand years the Divine command has been in process of fulfillment--"Multiply and fill the earth." God created but the one soul originally, divided it, and then, by natural processes, generation after generation of human souls have been born. Man is an earthly soul or earthly animal, as are all the earthly creatures, only that his is the higher nature--an earthly image of his Creator, Who is a Spirit Being.
From this standpoint, how clearly we can discern the mistakes of the philosophies of the past and the true philosophy revealed to us only in the Bible, although discerning, penetrating, philosophical minds, like that of Mr. Edison, may reach the same truth from the study of the great Book of Nature.
From this standpoint, we see that the entire man is a living soul--that is to say, a sentient being. The formation of Adam was very important, just as to-day, under the same Divine regulations, the shape of the brain has to do with the character of the man--gentle or vicious, criminal or conscientious, benevolent or stingy, reverential or otherwise. As the Bible declares: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7.) And a man's thoughts shape themselves according to the structure of his brain. Thus phrenology is a widely recognized science. Not only so, but physiology tells us that the various portions of the human body are so intimately related to the brain that the quality of the mind can be discerned in the general features, not only in the shape of the nose, the curl of the lip, the glance of the eye, but also in the grasp of the hand and its general shape, even to the particularity of a finger-print.
All these outward signs indicate the character of the soul, being--all are identified with it. In a word, a soul is a person. The various districts of the brain, representing the various sentiments and passions of the individual, are like so many members, each having its own personality. Amongst these various members of the human mind some are stronger, some weaker. And the stronger ones dominate. There are exceptions, of course, to this rule in what we sometimes term conversion. Conversion means the establishing of a new rule or order in the individual life. Note the method of its accomplishment:
Certain matters are brought to the attention of the person or soul and seem to indicate a wiser course than the one pursued in the past. The various districts of the brain, like so many members of a council, consider the proposition, weigh its pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, and then reach a decision. That decision we call will. Sometimes there is [OV138] a desperate struggle in the brain, the various members of the council of thought battling and struggling against each other. The will may be strong or may be weak, just as a party in Congress may be strong --or weak--while in power. But the will rules with more or less vacillation or strength, according to the number and power of the members supporting it. Thus we have found some possessed of strong characters; others weak, vacillating-- "double-minded."
The Will Represents the Soul, the Person,
the Ego.
Some of the qualities of the mind may be styled the "flesh"--this term represents the lower and more animal qualities of the person, the soul. To the contrary of these are the higher organs of the mind-- reverence, spirituality, conscientiousness, sublimity, ideality, etc., and these are called the heart, because they include the affections and qualities of the mind to which God appeals, saying: "My son, give Me thine heart."
Thus seen, we are daily making soul- character, influenced by our environment and the lessons and experiences which come to us through our senses. The character develops either upward or downward --toward God or toward sin. But there is no such thing as total depravity, except in idiocy, for, by Divine providence, some features of the original Divine likeness in which Father Adam was created still persist in all of his children who have reason. The effect of all reformers is to appeal to the mind, either through fear or love or selfishness, to effect an organization of the mental qualities favoring the things of righteousness and opposed to sin. The permanent conversion which produces the saintly characters is the appeal of love --"The love of Christ constraineth us." The love of the Father is potent in the hearts of all who receive it. It can effect changes in conduct, in language and in thought, which can be accomplished by nothing else.
A Methodist Bishop's Soul.
A Methodist Bishop is credited with the following definition of a soul: "It is without interior or exterior, without body, shape or parts, and you could put a million of them into a nut-shell." Mr. Edison does not believe in such a soul. In repudiating such a view he places himself in accord with the Divine teachings.
Immortality of the Soul.
The word immortality is rarely used in its strict, academic sense, as signifying deathlessness, or that which is proof against death--inherency of life, requiring no suspension. Immortality in this sense of the word is, of course, a quality which belongs to God alone. As the Scriptures declare of Him, "He alone hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, Whom no man hath seen nor can see." Immortality in this sense of the word, possessed by the Heavenly Father and now also by His only-begotten Son, the world's Redeemer, is promised as a special reward (not possessed by angels or any other creature) to the elect, saintly few, called, chosen and faithful, during this Gospel Age. These are styled the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, and the promise to them is that they shall receive this great reward of glory, honor and immortality when the Redeemer shall appear in His glory in the end of this Age to grant to them a share in the First or Chief Resurrection from the dead. With this attainment of immortality they are promised also new bodies, no longer flesh, but spirit, no longer in the likeness of the first man-- "As they bore the image of the earthly, they shall also bear the image of the heavenly."--1 Cor. 15:49.
Are All Men Immortal?
Mr. Edison is in full agreement with the Bible in his conclusion that human soul or personality is always identified with an organism or body. We must also agree with the Bible and with Mr. Edison that all souls die. The Bible declares: "The wages of sin is death," and again, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." The Bible explains that Adam, as a living soul, might have continued his existence perpetually had he not transgressed the Divine Law, and that the transgression brought [OV139] to him the penalty of death. Mr. Edison agrees with this conclusion without, perhaps, admitting original sin or anything else connected with the Scriptures.
Where, then, is human immortality? We answer that there is no human immortality, in the same sense that there is a Divine immortality--in the sense that God is death-proof. He, and His Son, our Lord Jesus, alone have immortality in that sense. When we speak of immortality in respect to mankind, we use the word, not in an academic sense, but in a relative way. We mean that death does not end all for Adam and his children--that a future life is arranged for them in Divine providence--when, where and how the Bible clearly tells.
We wish that Mr. Edison and many thinkers who have no confidence in the Bible might see the beauties and harmonies of its presentations. The Bible declares that the eternal life lost by Father Adam has been redeemed for him by the death of Jesus Christ, the just for the unjust. It tells us further that as all of Adam's race shared by heredity in his death penalty, so they all shall be permitted to share in His recovery from the power of the tomb, from sin and death. Thus the Scriptures declare, As by a man comes death, by a man also comes the resurrection of the dead; for as all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive, every man in his own order or company.-- 1 Cor. 15:21-23.
The great Apostle Paul declares that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. The Hebrew prophet declares, "Many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." The awakening time will be the morning, as the present is the night-time of sin and darkness. The glorious morning nears, as the night of sorrow and tears passes. There will be a glorious dawn to that great day of a thousand years, whose light is already fore-gleamed in the wonderful inventions of our day, in which Mr. Edison has been used of the Almighty to assist. Shortly the Sun of Righteousness shall shine forth, scattering the darkness, ignorance, superstition, sin, death. Shortly the reign of Divine Righteousness and love, co-ordinated, will bring blessings to our race, now resting under the sentence or curse of death. Shortly all will have the opportunity of recovery from the fallen condition of weakness and degradation, being uplifted or resurrected gradually to the full perfection of human nature, earthly nature, in the image and likeness of the Creator in the midst of a world-wide Paradise.
Cardinal Gibbons' Words Agree to This.
Cardinal Gibbons gave an interview to a reporter of the Columbian Magazine, in answer to Philosopher Edison. Noting with interest the Cardinal's defense of the doctrine of immortality, we have clipped and below produce the essence, the kernel, of his argument on the subject as based upon the Scriptures. We are pleased to see that, like ourselves, the Cardinal finds the Scriptural proof of a future life, not in the philosophies of a darker past, but in the resurrection promise of the holy Scriptures, as follows:
"Christ brings to humanity the certainty of eternal life. He proved it by His own resurrection; and if any one thinks the evidence for Christ's resurrection is weak, I ask him to study and think deeply over the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians. No sane scholar, remember, denies that we have the testimony of St. Paul himself; nor that St. Paul is honestly setting down the testimony of those who claim to have seen our Lord after death. If so many sane men, Apostles and disciples of Christ, are mistaken, if they cannot believe the testimony of their own eyes, if such a delusion can keep so firm a hold on so many different characters for so many years and become the basis of all their beliefs and the transforming power of their lives, then no human testimony is of any value; then let us close our courts of justice, for no case is proven by so many trustworthy witnesses. No!" the Cardinal said, in the tone of deepest conviction, "Christ is risen; and His resurrection is the plainest evidence of man's immortality."
[OV140]
CHINA'S PRAYER TO ONE OF MESSIAH'S
KINGDOMS
BY PASTOR C. T. RUSSELL
Written April 1911, for the Columns
of the Overland Monthly
THE CHINESE Empire, somnambulistic for centuries, is rubbing its eyes and getting truly wide awake. One of the most pronounced evidences of this awakening is the proposition to introduce the English language through the use of American school books and teachers. Another evidence is in the unifying of the empire the more through drawing together various great sections which heretofore have had too great independence for the national welfare. The third, and really one of the most important evidences of moral awakening, is the stand that is being made for temperance.
The intemperance, the intoxication which for a long time has been wrecking the Chinese is the use of opium. The Chinese are realizing that their whole national life and manhood is being undermined by the pestilential influence of this narcotic. They have gotten to the place of enacting laws against the manufacture of opium and against its cultivation in the poppy flower. More than this, they are praying about the matter. They are not praying to their gods, which they realize are unable to assist them; they are not praying to the God of the Christians and Jews, for they know little or nothing about him, except that they are told that he has a great fiery furnace into which their beloved ancestors have been thrown to suffer an eternal torture, and they, of course, would not think of importuning such a heartless god for relief from the opium evil.
Chinese Petitions Go to Great Britain.
The Chinese feel that they are themselves responsible for what opium is produced in their own land, and they are willing to take the responsibility for this and have made laws for its restraint. What they are praying about is, the opium imports which last year amounted to five million pounds of the horrible, soul-blighting stuff. A monster petition has been gotten up setting forth the evils of opium and how it is cursing their land and their people. This petition, signed by over two hundred thousand Chinese, forwarded to Great Britain, asking for aid, for relief, it is hoped may bring relief.
But who is Great Britain that this prayer of the Chinese on their own behalf, and as they say in the petition on behalf of the four hundred millions of their nation? Why should the petition, the prayer of these people, be addressed to Great Britain? What do they know about Great Britain?
Ah! they have missionaries who have brought them Bibles from the British and Foreign Missionary Societies. They have learned that Great Britain is one of the mightiest nations of earth. They have heard of her churches and their splendid choirs and their robed ministers and bishops and the House of Lords of which these bishops form a part, and the great British King who is the head of the Church as well as the Nation. They have heard that his kingdom is the kingdom of Messiah--that Messiah [OV141] the Son of God appeared on earth nearly nineteen centuries ago and established His kingdom, and that His kingdom to-day is represented by such nations as Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia, etc.
These kingdoms of Messiah, they are told, have reached a very high degree of development in their home lands, and are commissioned to conquer the Chinese and all other heathens, and to make them part of Messiah's Kingdom. The poor Chinese are perplexed. They have devil gods of their own, but they try to rid themselves of these. Our ordinary fire-crackers are manufactured by them for home consumption for the very purpose of driving out evil spirits; but the god of these Christians, they cannot understand Him.
According to the missionary, God holds out eternal torture or eternal life, and He has great Kingdoms on earth which represent His Government. These Kingdoms have manufactured most wonderful ships of steel, armed with cannon great and small which in a single discharge hurl tons of metal for miles for the destruction of life and property. They have seen these ships in their own ports, these ships which represent Messiah's Kingdom. They have heard their sailors, as representatives of that Kingdom, swear most blasphemous oaths. Their ambassadors afar have told them of the mighty power of these nations, and that sometimes one section of Messiah's Kingdom goes to war with another section of it, at a cost of millions of money and thousands of lives. Is it any wonder that the poor Chinese are confused and find it difficult to understand much about the Christians' God? And that Messiah's Kingdom is divided into quarreling portions-- divided against itself? It is no wonder!
The Opium War and Treaty.
But it is not merely because Great Britain has more ships and more powerful guns than has any other section of Messiah's Kingdom that the Chinese are making their prayer to Great Britain that the importation of opium may be stopped, and that their people may be spared from the awful consequences of this intoxicant. Rather they petition Great Britain because a little more than a half a century ago, when they desired to regulate the opium traffic and to keep the trade in their own hands, the British branch of Messiah's Kingdom made war upon them, seized one of their principal ports and hold it yet, and at the muzzles of great guns compelled the somnambulistic Chinese to enter into a treaty by which the British would have the right to bring into China for sale to the natives as much opium as they desired.
It is relief from this treaty contract under which five million pounds of opium per year are introduced into their land that the Chinese pray to be relieved. Fifty odd years ago they made a similar prayer to the grandmother of the present king, Queen Victoria the Good, when she was head of the Church and Kingdom, and principal representative of Messiah in the earth; but, through her, Messiah's Government refused the cry. The Chinese are hoping that Messiah's Government may be somewhat more lenient now through its present representative, King George, and hence the prayer of the four-hundred millions of China to him.
"The Root of All Evil."
But what religious or philanthropic motive did Great Britain (Messiah's chief representative empire) seek to promote, when it forced the opium treaty upon China? Ah, it is needless to tell the story. It was money--the love of money, which lay at the foundation of that gross injustice which has done a hundred-fold more harm to the Chinese than all the Christian missionaries have done them good. But does the British Government deal in opium? Surely not. The British Government is interested merely in the peace and welfare of China and the whole world. It is a philanthropic [OV142] Government surely. It builds its great Dreadnaughts for the very purpose of blessing mankind, does it not?
Alas, things are not always as they seem. It is a beautiful theory that all the armies and navies are sustained simply and solely for the preservation of the world's peace. In reality they are built and maintained that the owners may hold to themselves special rights and privileges and opportunities for wealth which they fear to lose to others.
The secret of British interest in opium is British interest in India, from which the five million pounds of opium annually come, and which bring to India millions of pounds sterling, the life blood of the Chinese. But why is Great Britain interested in India? Is this another of her philanthropies? We cannot dispute that with the British sway in India has come a certain amount of good Government which has brought a certain amount of blessing. But neither can it be disputed that the British rule in India is not purely a philanthropic affair, but a selfish one, and that it has carried with it much misery to millions of lovers of opium among the lower classes of India as well as of China.
India has been exploited for the benefit of the wealthy Britons. The Government there established has not had for its chief aim philanthropy, but the protection of British interests, British investments. True, the British have not been outwardly unjust in their treatment of the natives of India, as have some other branches of (so-called) Messiah's Kingdom been toward other heathen peoples, not so barbarous, for instance, as was the late Belgian king toward his subjects in the Congo district of Africa. He, as a representative of Messiah's Kingdom, it has been proven, caused the poor natives to be maimed and frequently put to death for lack of proper diligence in bringing in crude rubber from the forests wherewith to augment the millions of money in the king's treasury. Much more moderately, much more wisely, much more humanely, have the British representatives of Messiah's Kingdom dealt with the poor heathen of India. Indeed, it was to provide them an income, so that they in turn might make rich their protectors and rulers in far-off Britain that India's opium was forced upon the Chinese, and is still being forced upon them.
Why no Chinese Resistance?
Why do not the Chinese refuse to permit the landing of opium at their ports? Because the British would claim that this was a violation of the treaty. And why not violate the treaty and make a new one, or do without a treaty altogether--as other great powers would do? Because, as the Chinese well know, the British fleet would be gathered to their harbors, and the guns of this representative of Messiah's Kingdom of peace on earth and good-will toward men would blow millions of the poor Chinese into eternity and destroy all of their coast cities in revenge for the breaking of the treaty.
But why do not the Chinese appeal to other notable divisions of Messiah's Kingdom? To Germany, to Austria-Hungary, to France, etc. Why do they not tell these of their troubles and ask them to use their persuasive powers and great guns to compel the British to do them justice and grant them liberty? Ah! the answer is, that all these departments of Messiah's Kingdom have similar records or worse, each according to its size and opportunity. And those which have not already seized some of the heathen people to suck their life blood in the shape of trade are only awaiting favorable opportunities. Indeed, of all these so-called branches of Messiah's Kingdom, the British division is perhaps one of the most gracious and considerate.
What Must the Chinese Do?
The Chinese must wait for the true Kingdom of God, the true Kingdom of Messiah, of which they know nothing [OV143] as yet, of which the missionaries have not told them because the missionaries themselves are confused on the subject also. The hope of the Chinese and the hope of the whole world waits for the fulfillment of the great divine promise made to Abraham: "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Three thousand years have passed since that promise was made, and yet it is the only hope of the world, and it has not yet had fulfillment. --Galatians 3:29.
Thank God that a start has been made toward the fulfillment of that great promise. Thank God, a redeemer appeared amongst man whose sacrificed life is a sufficiency for the satisfaction of justice on behalf of the sins of the whole world, having passed under condemnation through one man's disobedience may surely be released from condemnation through the sacrificed obedience of "the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
But this sacrifice of Jesus was accomplished nearly nineteen centuries ago, says one. Where are the blessings which were to follow? Why have not all the families of the earth been blessed?
We reply that, following the resurrection and exaltation of the Redeemer centuries ago, there have come to mankind, flowing through his words and teachings, an increase of light and blessing, civilizing and humanizing in its influence. But aside from this, his words have been received here and there into the hearts of some of these who have been transformed by the renewing of their minds, and begotten again by the Holy Spirit, and Scripturally styled "new creatures in Christ Jesus." The class as a whole, as foretold, is but a "little flock." The first members gathered were Jews, but during the centuries here and there, the fore-ordained number has been in process of completion, its members all saints being gathered from every nation under heaven. Shortly, very shortly, we believe--this fore-ordained number will be completed, and will experience a resurrection similar to that experienced by our Redeemer. Thenceforth they will be like Him and with Him on the spirit plane of existence --"far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named."
That resurrection of glory will mark a great change in earth's affairs. That spiritual class of saintly ones, from Jews and Gentiles, will represent Jehovah's blessing through Abraham's seed. Forthwith these, as the Messiah, head and members will be established in power and great glory. The dominion of earth will be given into the hands of this great Messiah, as per the second Psalm. The great time of trouble immediately following the transfer of earth's dominion will bless the world by the overthrow of all the injustice of the present time and by the establishment of righteousness upon a permanent basis backed by divine power.
The Scriptures declare that Messiah's Kingdom will cause all oppression to cease. Every good impulse will be cultivated, and every noble desire will be assisted, and a great resurrection or uplifting of the race will ensue. Oppressors and oppression will be overthrown, and the blind eyes of those who do evil and think that they do good will be opened.
The prayer of the Chinese and of all others oppressed will be heard and be answered by the true Kingdom of Messiah. Mammon no longer will reign, but will be dethroned suddenly and permanently. Instead of present ignorance, superstition, pride, ambition and selfishness will be reared the glorious dominion of righteousness. Israel, long outcast from Divine favor, will, according to the Scriptures, be the first people ready to enter into and co-operate with the Messianic Government. Consequently they will be the first to be blessed by it, but not the last; for through them the natural seed of Abraham, will proceed the blessing from the spiritual seed to every nation, people, kindred and tongue.-- Galatians 3:29.
[OV144]
"WORLD THAT WAS," "PRESENT EVIL
WORLD" AND THE "WORLD TO COME"
BY PASTOR C. T. RUSSELL
NOBODY THINKS of disputing the statement that we are living in a most wonderful day. The history of the world during the past century fills us with amazement. The wildest dreams of the "Arabian Nights," "Aladdin's Lamp," and other fanciful imaginations come far short of what we have seen--what we are seeing, handling, using, enjoying, daily, hourly! How difficult it is to realize that there are people living in the world to-day who have witnessed the progressive development of nearly everything that goes to make up modern life!-- steamboats, railroads, steam railways, electric railways, automobiles, the telegraph, the telephone and thousands of wonders along the lines of conveniences, utilities and wonders in chemistry.
What Does all this Mean?
There are but two ways of accounting for this wonderful condition of things which surround us.
Darwin's Law of Evolution was conjured up as a solution of the mystery. With no other thought before their mind to combat this, his theory of Evolution spread rapidly with general acceptance amongst the educated, and, of course, therefore, amongst the uneducated. It has become the standard explanation of the schools, and is even represented in the intellectual food of the primary grades.
But thinkers are beginning to query the theory of Evolution, and to point out that, instead of a progressive evolution being the rule in nature, the very reverse seems the truth. Mr. Darwin's pigeons, developed carefully along selected lines, did, indeed, reach a high degree of specialization; but the same broods of pigeons, released from human assistance and care, instead of going onward and upward, went backward --devoluted. The same principles are seen to operate with all the lower animals: horses, dogs, cats, poultry, etc. These same principles hold good in the vegetable kingdom. Human care and energy have produced wonderful results in fruits, grains and vegetables. But is it not true that in all of these developments there is a constant tendency to retrogression? Thinkers are beginning to realize that the past century has not developed abler minds than any previous century and admit, indeed, that to-day we have few who will compare with the old masters in art, music, poetry, philosophy. Whom have we to-day to compare with Shakespeare, the Psalmist David or the Prophet Job? In depth of reasoning, whom have we to compare with Plato and Socrates, not to mention St. Paul? And what great Law Giver ever made so deep an impression upon humanity as did Moses!
If the theory of Evolution be expected to demonstrate itself as a theory, should we not find a gradual progression from a monkey (Adam) to present-day intelligence, instead of what we do find--great intelligence far in the past and a sudden flare-up of intelligence all in one century? Besides, do we not find that the most intelligent and best educated men of our day have had little or nothing to do with the great inventions and discoveries which make our day phenomenal? Do we not, on the contrary, find that philosophers are fewer than ever, [OV145] and that the wide-spread increase of knowledge with the masses is merely a parrot-like repetition of what they have been told and concerning which they have little real knowledge?
A More Satisfactory Explanation.
The other explanation of the phenomena of our day is the Bible one. God's Word teaches a progressive development in the Divine Plan of the Ages, which is the very opposite of Mr. Darwin's Evolution theory. The Bible outlines to us an Epoch lasting from creation to the flood; another, distinctly separate, lasting from the flood to the coming of Messiah and the establishment of His Kingdom--the Messianic reign of blessing promised throughout the Scriptures. The Bible also shows that this Epoch from the flood to Messiah has three subdivisions marked by distinctly different Divine dealings with humanity: (a) The Patriarchal Period; (b) The Period of Jewish Favor; (c) The Christian Period.
The Bible tells that man was created perfect--"upright"--in the image and likeness of his Creator. It teaches that in his perfection and harmony with God he was not subject to sickness, pain, excessive labor, sorrow and death, but was specially cared for under Edenic conditions. Nevertheless, knowing that, in his inexperience, Adam would fall into disobedience, God left the world in an unfit, undeveloped, unmatured condition--except the specially prepared Paradise Garden. Condemned to death for their disobedience, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden that their death penalty might be worked out as convicts, and that they and their race might learn something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
The downward course was swift and culminated in the flood. That first Epoch had its special lessons for angels and for men, which we need not here discuss. A new Epoch, Age or Dispensation, mis-translated "world," then opened.
Again, Noah and his family, all in harmony with God, were planted, but the downward tendency of sin soon manifested itself, and in but a short time the plague of sin was again raging. Next, language was confounded, and the race scattered as different nations over the face of the earth, each to demonstrate how, under various conditions, sin (selfishness) would still blight every division of the race--some more, some less; some in this respect, some in other respects. As a result, many of our race have fallen to great depths of degradation, mental, moral and physical--some have descended almost to the brute, and, by virtue of a greater intellectual power, become worse than brutes.
In permitting this reign of sin and death, God from the very beginning knew what He was doing, and was intent on giving to all of His intelligent creatures a great lesson concerning the exceeding sinfulness of sin. He made no fiery hell of everlasting torture for His creatures, but He did allow them to make for themselves in the present life awful and distressing conditions--mental, moral and physical. But all the while, and from before creation, He purposed a glorious outcome to His Plan, most beneficial and helpful to all of His creatures, who were or who would later become harmonious with His Divine arrangements. The lessons permitted through the reign of sin and death, individually and collectively, we are assured, will result gloriously to the obedient, while the wilfully disobedient will eventually be destroyed in the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery; for, as St. Peter says, They shall perish like brute beasts.--2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 12.
Lessons of the Jewish Age.
God dealt with the Jews differently than with any other people. First, He permitted them to go into slavery that it might be manifest that He had chosen a superior race. Under Divine discipline, and actuated by hopes based upon Divine promises, Israel became a wonderful people, whose influence [OV146] has extended to all parts of the earth. Still held by the Divine promises, the Jews have not amalgamated with other peoples, and, although poor and persecuted and outcast, they have neither been destroyed from the earth nor degraded to the level of the heathen. The Divine promises not only selected special representatives of the Jewish race for a share in a future work of blessing the world, but, as we have seen, the Divine promises have maintained the Jews as a race on a high plane of civilization.
Next the Christian Age.
The Christian Age has accomplished a double work, also. It has selected a saintly few, called in the Bible "the elect," who are to be associates with Messiah in His glorious Kingdom. It has also exerted a wide influence throughout Europe and America over the civilization of the nations which it touches. It has been an enlightening and liberating influence amongst them in every sense of the word, even though the "elect," the saintly, are few, and even though the unsaintly may, by the liberty and intelligence emanating from Christianity, be more powerful factors of evil than if they had remained without enlightenment-- in barbarism.
Whoever can discern what we have here pointed out realizes that the Divine promises have been uplifting and enlightening influences in the world. Nevertheless, because of sin, depravity and selfishness, the true light of the Divine promises has not benefited the masses, mentally, morally or physically, as it would have done had it been received into good and honest hearts. As it is, the influence of Gospel enlightenment and the spirit of liberty operating in an unregenerate and selfish heart, are about to bring to the world a most awful time of trouble and anarchy. Were it not for the promised intervention of Divine power we could hope for nothing, for we see about us what the Bible foretold, an increasing selfishness, which ultimately will array the world--"Every man's hand against his neighbor."--Zech. 8:10.
Divine Plan Consummated.
The Bible explains the phenomena of our wonderful day by pointing out that we are living at the time when another great Dispensational change is due to take place. We are living in the close of six thousand years of sin and death, and in the dawn of the seventh thousand, which is to be a thousand year Sabbath Day. In it, Messiah, as the great Antitypical Priest, King, Law-Giver and Judge, will give the whole world of mankind a judgment or trial for life everlasting or death everlasting. The great Judge (Jesus) has Himself laid the foundation for this in that, by His own Death, He is enabled to cancel the sentence of death which came upon Father Adam and His race, and to give them a fresh trial for life everlasting under the glorious provisions of His Messianic Kingdom. In that trial all the difficulties and experiences of the present life may prove helpful instructions in righteousness.
That glorious epoch will not merely be for those living at that time when the reign of righteousness will begin, but will include all the twenty thousand millions of our race who have gone into the tomb from Adam's day until now. "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust"--the just will be the elect few of the Jewish Age, and the other elect few of this Age. The former will come forth to human resurrection; the latter to participation in the Divine nature, as members of the great Messiah, under the headship of Jesus, composed of the saintly of English and French, Jews and Swedes and all nationalities. The former will come forth to earthly perfection and to have fulfilled in them and through them the Divine promise, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." The seed of Abraham will thus be a double--a heavenly and an earthly-- "as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the sea."
[OV147]
The blessing to come to the world will be the release from the dominion of Satan, who shall be bound for that thousand years, and instead of the ignorance and superstition fostered by his reign of darkness, will come to mankind the true light of Divine Truth. "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His Beams." Darkness, sin, pain, sorrow, death will all flee from the world in general. Only wilful rejectors will receive stripes, and these, proving unavailing, will be destroyed in the Second Death. Thus, eventually, as the Bible declares, the whole earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of God, and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, of those both in heaven and in earth. And there shall be no more sighing and no more crying and no more dying--because the former things of sin and death will have passed away; because the Divine Plan will have reached its culmination. The elect "little flock," "the Church of the firstborns," will be like unto the angels but more glorious, partakers of the Divine nature. The world of mankind, uplifted out of sin and death conditions will not only have a world-wide Paradise for their everlasting home, but themselves will be perfect, in the image and likeness of God.
Foregleams of the Millennium.
The Bible teaches that the Divine blessing will wipe away all tears; sorrow and sighing shall flee away gradually and forever during the Messianic reign. The Scriptures imply that wonderful blessings will prevail amongst men. So great an inventor as Mr. Edison, without realizing that he corroborates the Scriptures, tells us that the world is on the eve of most stupendous developments, by which her thousands of millions will be fed, clothed and housed most luxuriously and at a trifling expenditure of energy.
The real explanation of the wonders of the past century is that God Himself is lifting the veil from the human mind and permitting us to peer into matters previously kept secret for man's good, that he might toil with sweat of face until due time for liberation would come. The Scriptures speak of the present as the "day of His preparation"--preparation for Messiah's Kingdom and the world's blessing--preparation for the wind-up of the present evil world (age), and for the inauguration of the world (age) to come, wherein dwelleth righteousness." --2 Pet. 3:13.
The Scriptures not only foretell, but point us to the time and to the influences that will produce these conditions. Twenty-four hundred years ago it was written that various features of the Divine Program were closed up and sealed until the time of the end-- until the closing of this Christian Age and the opening of the New Dispensation. That Epoch, called "the time of the end," began in 1799. We have already been in it one hundred and eleven years. The Prophet tells how we may know, saying of it, Many shall run to and fro; knowledge shall be increased, and there shall be a time of trouble.--Dan. 12:1,2.
The running to and fro, the commingling of peoples of all nations, has waked up the world and given it new conceptions of life and energy. We are still in this time of running to and fro. As a result of this intercourse, knowledge has been increased--made general. The world is pouring out streams of treasure for the enlightenment of the race. Education is compulsory in all civilized lands, and this same spirit is taking hold of the heathen. China has already decided to educate her people in the English tongue, and for years the schools of India have been turning out a million graduates a year in English studies.
Will this rushing to and fro and this increase of knowledge bring the millennium as a natural result, as some have hoped? Nay, verily. Knowledge is a dangerous thing, except for those who are perfect. And all mankind, through the fall, are imperfect. Comparatively few have even what the Apostle terms the spirit of a sound [OV148] mind. To all others, knowledge has dangers. In the past, many have been willing to do wrong who knew not how to make it pay. To-day the whole world is keenly alive to methods and opportunities for violating the Golden Rule in the interest of personal advantage. As a result of knowledge, the world would be a terrible place to live in if it were not for the police protection, backed up by every contrivance imaginable for the apprehension of evil-doers and the protection of life and property. When the hour arrives that the law and order of Christendom shall succumb to anarchy, civilization will receive the greatest shock ever. So says the Bible: "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation."--Daniel 12:1.
The philosophy of the matter, the lifting by the Almighty of the curtain of ignorance, let in such a stream of light that the world awakened from the slumber of ages with a start. Labor saving inventions suddenly made the world fabulously rich. More and more humanity is becoming intoxicated with a thirst for gold, which quenches other ambitions more noble. The mad rush for money has passed Upper Tendom, and is reaching the middle and lower classes. Flood-like, it sweeps before it justice and love, saying, "Money first; we will inquire respecting a conscience and a God later."
Had the Almighty lifted the curtain of ignorance centuries sooner, this time of trouble would have come correspondingly soon. He has deferred the matter until now, and informs us in His Word that the cataclysm of trouble about to break upon the world will be allowed to go only far enough to teach men and angels a great lesson: then Messiah's Kingdom, established upon the ashes of selfish hopes and ambitions and "bursted" Trusts will establish by Divine power a reign of righteousness in which every evil intention, even, will be punished and every good intention blessed. These are but the beginning of "the times of restitution"--years of restoration--to all that humanity lost, as mentioned by St. Peter in Acts 3:19-21.
PATIENCE
THE purple grape must be crushed
To make the sweet, red wine,
And furnace fires must fiercely burn,
The drossy gold to refine;
The wheel must cruelly grind,
Else where the jewel's light?
And the steel submit to the polishing,
Or how would the sword grow bright?
How then, my soul, wilt thou
The Spirit's fruits possess,
Except thou lovingly yield thyself
To the Hand that wounds to bless?
Then patiently let the fire
Consume all earthly dross--
Thou canst not hope to wear the Crown,
If thou refuse the Cross!
[OV149]
"A CLEAN THING OUT OF AN UNCLEAN"
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
London* and Brooklyn Tabernacles
*Pastor Russell, on the occasion of a recent visit to London, England, accepted the pastorate of the London Tabernacle Congregation. The call was given with the full understanding that Pastor Russell would not think of leaving his large work in America, which centers at Brooklyn, N.Y. It was urged, however, that his acceptance of the pastorate would insure his giving them a goodly share of his time. He promised about four months in each year. He has able assistants there as well as in Brooklyn. Really, London will have about as much of the pastor's time as he gives to Brooklyn, because in America his Sundays are scattered over a considerable area. Brooklyn having the first Sunday of each month so far as possible. Pastor Russell travels much in Great Britain also, but gives his Sundays to London and his week days to the other large cities. Reports indicate that he has large audiences at all his meetings--besides the still vaster audience reached weekly through his sermons printed in more than a thousand newspapers in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. PERHAPS the most difficult thing for people in general to believe respecting Jesus is the claim of the Bible and of all orthodox creeds that He was born of a virgin--that He was born differently from the remainder of the race, and that, on account of this miraculous birth, He was perfect physically, mentally, morally--"holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." Some can exercise a simple, child-like faith and accept this proposition set forth in the Scriptures, and progress in the building of a faith structure thereupon. Others of different mental construction find faith more difficult and inquire for the reason, the philosophy and, if possible, to know the processes by which Divine power was thus exercised, as well as the reason why such a stupendous miracle was required to be wrought. The subject is not only a delicate one, but very abstruse, and, as a matter of fact, the philosophy of it is rarely if ever thought of or attempted.
The point, however, is fundamental. No one can Scripturally believe in the Lord Jesus Christ without believing in His miraculous birth. No one, therefore, can be a Christian, in the Scriptural sense, without this belief. So long as we held that only true, saintly Christians would be saved, and that all others were foreordained to eternal torture we properly enough felt a delicacy in mentioning particularly the items of faith necessary to the obtaining of a standing with God as a true Christian. Now, however, since we see that only the saintly few will be members of the elect Church, and that through these (in their glorified condition) will come a great blessing of restitution opportunities to human perfection and to an earthly Eden to all the non-elect, we may feel free to treat all matters very candidly.
Belief in the Miraculous Birth
Necessary.
By and by, when all the darkness and clouds of ignorance, superstition, etc., shall have passed away, and when clear knowledge of God and clear Revelation from Him will be freely granted to mankind, all, of course, will understand the philosophy of this great fact of our Lord's immaculate birth. But in the present time such knowledge is withheld, because God is seeking a special class which will trust Him where they cannot trace Him--a class which will be willing to walk by faith and not by sight. To such faithful, trusting ones God will grant special privileges and blessings as the Bride of the Redeemer and joint heir in His Kingdom and glory. To these it is given to know something respecting the mysteries of the Divine arrangement in connection with the Kingdom class, which are still hidden from the world in general. These are guided by the Divine Revelation of the Bible and aided by the illumination of the mind through the Holy Spirit, which they receive at the time of their full consecration. Only these may be expected to see very clearly on many of the important subjects of Divine Revelation [OV150] in the present time--others must wait until the night is passed and until the morning of the New Dispensation shall have been ushered in with its rising of the Sun of Righteousness. Meantime, as we near the glorious day, the illumination of the early dawning gives clearness of vision on every subject and enables honest minds, even amongst the worldly, to grasp certain great doctrines and principles of Truth as never before.
The importance of the doctrine is acknowledged by all creeds, though many of those who hold to the creed fail to see the connection--the reasons --the necessity. The erroneous view held by some that Jesus was, at the same time, the Heavenly Father in Heaven and the Heavenly Son on earth --equal in power and glory and "one in substance"--has made confusion worse confounded in many minds. We must leave all the unscriptural rubbish on the subject and confine ourselves to the Bible teachings, directly and indirectly.
It was necessary that Jesus should be perfect--"holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners"--because the first man Adam had been all that. Jesus left His heavenly glory with the Father, as the Logos, and took the human nature for the very purpose of redeeming the first man Adam, and thus Adam's family and his estate. Since sin and hereditary imperfection have tainted and blemished every member of Adam's race, "There is none perfect, no, not one," and "hence none is able to give a ransom for his brother"--neither for Father Adam nor for any man.--Psalm 49:7.
If there had been a perfect son of Adam, God could have made to such a one the very offer that He made to the Logos, "the Only-Begotten of the Father." He could have offered him glory, honor and immortality as a reward for the sacrificing of His perfect earthly life to be a price for Father Adam's life, and thus a ransom price for his race, etc. But no perfect man could be found. God could have made the proposition to Gabriel or one of the inferior angels--to become a perfect man and to redeem Adam and his race. But instead of so doing, Divine Wisdom chose to make the proposition to the Only-Begotten Son of God, the Logos. He gladly accepted the undertaking to be transferred from the spirit plane to the human plane and to carry out to the full the Divine will, as step by step it would be revealed to Him.
Our Catholic friends go a step beyond the Scriptures and claim that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was miraculously born; that she was perfect, and that this had to do with the perfection of Jesus. We cannot accept this, because there is no Scripture for it. Besides, if Mary could be thus miraculously conceived and born free from the taint of heredity, why would it be necessary, since Jesus could be born in like manner of an imperfect mother? And this is the Scriptural proposition --the one we are discussing--the one that is so difficult for some well-meaning people to grasp and believe. Its importance lies in the fact that a sinner could not redeem himself, and that, unless Jesus were miraculously born, He would have been partaker of the blemishes of Father Adam.
The secret of the matter lies in the fact (which is daily coming to be more fully recognized by science) that all life comes from the father, and that the mother merely furnishes the nourishment for that living organism which comes from the father, by which it is developed and becomes a creature of the same nature as the mother, although its life is wholly from its father. Thus the word father is synonymous with the word life-giver.
Divine Life Transferred.
We must not be wise above what is written. God has not revealed to us the particular process by which life originally given to the Only-Begotten, the Logos, was transferred without cessation to the womb of Mary, the mother of Jesus, for her to nourish and develop it to birth on the human plane [OV151] of existence. This great fact we accept for two reasons:
(1) Because it is the statement of the only Book which bears the stamp of Divine Revelation.
(2) Because we perceive that just such a condition of things is necessary to the working out of the Divine Program as originally intended--a Program which the Almighty Father could have arranged otherwise had He desired. The point of special interest to us is:
How could this clean thing, this life of the Logos, be nourished in the womb of an unclean, imperfect, mother not separate from sinners? The Prophet inquires, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" and replies: Not one. No man would have such power. But this is the very power which God possesses, and claims to have exercised in the miraculous birth of Jesus.
Science for some time has been closely approaching the solution of this question. Science is finding that a perfect creature can appropriate to its own use such elements of nutrition as are necessary, advantageous and healthful, and can reject and pass by the unhealthful nutriments. More and more this principle is recognized, not only in laboratories, but also in daily life. A healthy man may eat almost anything with impunity. His system will reject and purge of unhealthful, poisonous elements and retain, absorb, appropriate the healthful. This is in harmony with the old proverb, "One man's meat is another man's poison." And in proportion as one is bodily weak and degenerate, he is susceptible to diseases of every kind. In proportion as he is strong, full of vitality, vigor, the various microbes and bacteria are repelled by his system. Applying this principle in the case of Jesus, it solves the riddle; it shows us how the perfect germ of life from the spirit plane could appropriate to itself the necessary nourishments for its own perfect development. Thus we are better enabled to-day to see the philosophy of the immaculate conception of our Lord than were any of our forefathers. And to-day also we understand the philosophy of the Atonement better than they: we may the better see why Jesus must needs have been perfect--why no imperfect one could have been the Redeemer.
Not a God, But a Man.
Thus seen, the Redeemer was not a mere man in the sense of being on a common plane with the remainder of mankind, imperfect, fallen. He was a man, nevertheless--a perfect man, an image of God in the flesh, as was Father Adam before he sinned. The Divine Law stipulates "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a man's life for a man's life." And it was the requirement of this Law that Jesus came to meet on man's behalf. He became a man. He became flesh and dwelt among us, because this was necessary. It was not necessary for Him to become a man to utter the words which He uttered during His earthly ministry. True, indeed, "Never man spake like this Man," yet He spoke to the people in parables and dark sayings-- "without a parable spake He not unto them." Our Lord's words could have been otherwise conveyed. The explanations of His words are given by the Apostles. Without His enlightenment through the Apostles His words would to-day be dark and not understood. Jesus came into the world, not to be a Teacher, but to be a Savior--a Redeemer. Thus it is written, "A body hast Thou prepared Me" "for the suffering of death." (Heb. 10:5; 2:9.) Had it not been necessary for Jesus to suffer death, "the Just for the unjust," He would not have come into the world. His death as a spirit being would not have redeemed mankind, for the same reason that the death of bulls and goats, under the Law Covenant, could not take away sin. It was necessary that He should give Himself a ransom-price for all. The word ransom, as used in 1 Tim. 2:6, signifies in Greek a price to correspond. And the only price that would correspond [OV152] to the life of the perfect man who sinned in Eden was the life of a perfect man who had not sinned. It was this ransom-price that Jesus gave and on account of which it is written that He bought us and bought the world.
Strictly speaking, the purchasing is not yet accomplished. The price is ready in the hands of Justice, but not appropriated to the world. It is to be appropriated or given to Adam and his race under the New Covenant arrangements of Messiah's Kingdom. Meantime, the merit of Jesus' sacrifice, which is in the hands of Justice, is imputed to His disciples, to all who turn from sin and accept Him as their Savior. After making full consecration of their all they are begotten of the Holy Spirit. The imputation of the merit of Jesus' sacrifice to His followers continues all through this Gospel Age. And not until the last member shall have passed beyond the veil victorious will he be ready to appropriate His ransom sacrifice fully for the cancellation of the world's sins. In harmony with this the Scriptures tell us that "the whole world lieth in the Wicked One"--only the Church is now being delivered. The Apostle says, "We (the Church) were children of wrath even as others (still are.)--Eph. 2:3.
In a word, two salvations will result from the faithfulness of the Logos in doing the Father's will. The Undefiled One's sacrifice is sufficient for the sins of the whole world. The Church class, through the imputation of His righteousness, obtains now their share of the merit of that sacrifice and are thereby enabled to be justified freely from all sin and to join with the Redeemer in His sufferings, in His sacrifice, and thus be prepared to share in His coming glory. The reward to this class is glory, honor and immortality, the Divine nature--"far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named."
The World's Salvation.
The human nature which Jesus laid down sacrificially He did not forfeit.
The Divine nature to which He was raised on the third day was not in exchange for His human nature, but as a reward for His sacrifice. He, therefore, still has that right to human nature, and it, in harmony with the Divine Plan, He purposes to give to the world of mankind. This will constitute the world's salvation.
It will be given, however, only to such of mankind--after being brought to a knowledge of the Truth--as during Messiah's reign, will gladly and heartily accept the Divine terms. The uplift of humanity from sin, degradation, meanness, death, to perfection and all that was lost in Adam, will be conditioned upon obedience to the Divine requirements. Assistance out of sin and death conditions will be supplied by the great Redeemer and His glorified Church, His Bride.
Thus seen, the Church's salvation will soon be completed in the First Resurrection and the world's salvation will then be ready to begin. It will be participated in by all to a certain extent, but all who eventually reject Divine favor will be destroyed from amongst the people in the Second Death. (Acts 3:23; Jude 12.) We note another difference between these two salvations. The first, as we have seen, is a salvation to heavenly or spirit nature by a process of "change," "begetting of the Holy Spirit," and the sacrifice and death of the fleshly nature. The other, the world's salvation, will not be by sacrifice, will not be by change of nature, but by obedience and resurrection--the human nature retained will be gradually restored and brought to perfection in all the willing and obedient. They will get to the full the earthly life rights, privileges, etc., of Jesus, which the Church gets only in a reckoned or imputed sense, not to keep, but to assist them by making their sacrifices holy and acceptable in God's sight.
In view of these things, we see the importance of this great fact of the immaculate conception of Jesus-- "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners."
[OV153]
JEWS NOT TO BE CONVERTED TO
CHRISTIANITY
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
London and Brooklyn Tabernacle
IN ALL PARTS of the world, heroic efforts are being made by Christians to reach the Jews--to bring them into the various branches of the Christian Church--into the various denominations of Christendom. The Church of England maintains expensive missions for the Jews, not only in Jerusalem, but in various provinces of Turkey and in Austria, and elsewhere. Presbyterians and Baptists are also energetic in their endeavor to "save God's ancient and Covenant people." The Jews resent such "missions," but not always rationally. They admit that Judaism should be based upon reason. Logically, therefore, there is no more reason why a Jew should complain against missions than that infidels should complain. Infidels generally take the logical view and say, Let whoever likes believe any of the different theories presented in the name of Jesus. Nobody is compelled to attend the "missions;" neither should anybody feel offended at the missionaries nor at those who attend. Realizing the force of this argument, some Jews apologize, saying: We do not object to the preaching of Jesus any more than we object to Mohammedanism or any other religion. We object, say they, to underhanded methods being used--the enticement of Jewish children with candy, and of Jewish people out of employment with clothing and situations. Our reply is that Jews should be able to provide as many picnics and candies as others for their children, and Jewish employers ought to be as able to offer situations to young men as Christian employers.
But the peculiarity of Jewish opposition to Christian missionaries is that infidel Jews who have no religion of their own, and are really, therefore, not Jews at all, not believers in the Bible nor in Abraham, Moses nor the Prophets as God's mouthpieces--these make the most violent opposition to "missions." These Jews are generally Socialists. Only a few days ago they precipitated a riot in the city of Toronto in their opposition to some Presbyterians and some Jewish converts to Presbyterianism. Nor are they as logical as we might have expected. Our own experience recently in Vienna proved this. The socialistic, unbelieving Hebrews who have abandoned their own Jewish religion, were the ones who came to our meeting, and, by their unjust, ungentlemanly conduct, hindered us from addressing several hundred real Jews who were anxious to hear us. And they opposed merely because some one spread a false report that I was seeking to "mission" the Jews. The unfitness of such people for any kind of Socialism is manifest. No one could be a good or true Socialist, and yet be unwilling that his neighbor should exercise the same liberty as himself in respect to religious and other questions.
Although the majority of ministers in all denominations have become Higher Critics, infidels, and wholly disbelieve in hell torment, nevertheless they conduct "missions," etc., just the same as when they did believe in such things. If, therefore, the Jews could get the proper thought they would greatly appreciate the missionaries for their endeavor to save them from eternal torment. The Jews should be taught by their rabbis, and should be able to answer such arguments by [OV154] showing that "the wages of sin is death," and that hope for a life beyond the grave is the resurrection hope, and that the resurrection hope depends on Messiah's Kingdom, which has not yet been established, but for which they wait. Alas, that the Jewish rabbis give practically all of their attention to the reading of prayers in the synagogue, which the people could do as well for themselves, and to the killing of the cattle, which can be done better by our great beef trusts-- which indeed do the most of it and then leave it for the rabbis to mark "kosher." God's Word through the Prophet applies to Jews as well as to Christians--"My people perish for lack of knowledge;" "There is a famine in the land, not for bread, but for the hearing (understanding) of the Word of the Lord."
Pastor Russell's Views Misunderstood.
My own view of the relationship between Jews and Christians is so different from anything that has been previously presented for eighteen hundred years that I cannot wonder that the Jews are slow to understand it. So far from endeavoring to bring Jews into any of the Christian denominations, Catholic or Protestant, I would advise the Jews to stand clear of all of them. I seek to point out to the Jew that he has his own Divine promises, which are separate and distinct from those of Christians. God's promises to the Jew are all earthly. The Israelites are all to come back from the state of death under Messiah's glorious Kingdom, which will gradually efface sin and death from the world and make it like the Garden of Eden-- Paradise restored, world-wide. If a Jew would have a high place in favor with the great Restorer, the great Messiah, he should take heed to his steps and order them according to the Word of God, as expressed through Messiah and the Prophets. To whatever extent he cultivates a love for righteousness, truth and honesty, nobility of mind and heart, generosity--in that same proportion he shall be the better fitted and prepared for the glorious good time coming. To whatever extent he neglects the Law and the Prophets, the practice of self-control, etc., in that same proportion he will be degraded and enter the future life under less favorable conditions.
The Divine promise is that when Messiah's Kingdom shall be established under the whole heavens, Abraham, Isaac and the Prophets, and all Jews found loyal to God, will be granted high positions of influence and authority throughout the world--they will be the princes or rulers in all the earth. The Jews naturally will be the best prepared to receive those resurrected representatives of the Kingdom --the Kingdom itself being spiritual and invisible. Naturally the Jews will rally first to these leaders of their own nation. And those who have learned by practice to love righteousness and truth and to practice self-control will find it the easier to come into line with the laws and regulations of that glorious Epoch. Under Messiah's Kingdom, righteousness will be laid to the line and judgment to the plummet. This will mean a severe ordeal to those who love unrighteousness and untruth, but eventually it will mean a reign of law and righteousness world-wide, with countless opportunities and blessings and assistances. And although those blessings will come first to the Jew, they will not stop with the Jew, but will extend, through the Jew, to all the families of the earth. All who love righteousness and truth will be attracted by the new regime and become associated with the Jews therein, and thus, as the Scriptures declare, Abraham will become the "Father of many nations."
The Jew who ceases to be a Jew ceases to look in the proper direction for the blessings God has promised to him. And this is true, whether it be by becoming a Presbyterian, an Episcopalian, a Romanist or an unbeliever --an infidel. In the Jewish Law and promises are the proper incentives for the Jewish life. The Jew has in his Law and in the prophecies everything [OV155] to encourage him to live a careful, honest, upright life--just as much as he would find if he believed the New Testament also. Indeed, we incline to think that, while Jewish training might be greatly improved upon, nevertheless the Jews as a whole are probably as moral a race as any in the world. There are probably as few sons of Jews in prisons, jails, penitentiaries, etc., as of Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Roman Catholics. Is not this an argument showing that the New Testament and faith in Jesus are not necessary to the Jew to produce moral fruitage?
Christianity is Misunderstood.
The world misunderstands Christianity; so do the majority of Christians. The general misconception is, that the Church of Christ is in the world as a reformatory institution--to give the world correct moral ideas and to help keep them out of drunkard graves and from all kinds of licentiousness, brutality, profanity, etc. Indeed, the world measures Christianity by its success in fighting down these evils, and many Christians have the same false views.
Such a view is entirely wrong. When God gets ready to deal with the world's sins--licentiousness, drunkenness, false doctrines, etc.--He will proceed along different lines entirely from any that He has authorized the Church to prosecute. He will establish His Kingdom. He will use Divine Wisdom and Power for the subjection of sin and all unrighteousness. He will grapple with the various forms of sin, and not unsuccessfully, as some in His Name are doing to-day. When His time shall come, when the Kingdom of Messiah shall be established, so great power will be exercised amongst men as to effectually rid the world of sin and sinners until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, and until the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the deep and until God's will shall be done on earth as thoroughly as it is done in heaven.
So far from teaching that the Church in the present time is to conquer the world, the great Redeemer distinctly told that His followers should suffer persecution and that at His own Second Coming there would be "little faith found on the earth." Instead of saying or implying that at His coming the world would be converted, everything in the Master's teachings advise us that at that time evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Tim. 3:13.) Only in a secondary and passive sense is the Church to fight against evil and against sin. It is not her mission to fight sin in the saloon nor at the polls. That is part of the world's affair; it is to attend to that. And the world is attending to it. Am I told that the Church is taking the most prominent part in all the fighting against vice and drunkenness? I answer, It is a mistake; it is the world that is doing all this fighting. The Church, indeed, feels a deep interest and sympathy for every good work at home and abroad --in everything tending toward human uplift. But the Church has a totally different mission. So far as immorality is concerned, it is the Church's part to lift up her light and let it shine; thus the good works will be a reproof on the sins of the world without one word being uttered on the subject. This, evidently, is what Jesus meant when He said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16.) The Church is instructed to fight a good fight, but not with the world and not with the world's sins and immorality. She is instructed to keep her own gown spotless, white, "without spot or wrinkle." She is instructed to make herself ready for the coming of the Bridegroom and the marriage then to take place. She is nowhere instructed to make the world ready. And she would be unable to make the world ready if she were so instructed unless Divine power supplemented hers. Similarly the Jews are not instructed to [OV156] convert the world, and are not attempting so to do. Their work is with themselves--to develop a character which will be acceptable to God and which He can use in His own due time in connection with the blessing of the world.
Which Church is Referred To?
Some one will be ready to ask me to what Church I refer? Which Church is giving its time--not to attempt to convert the world, but in an attempt to build up the Church in the fruits and graces of God's Holy Spirit? Which Church is not engaged in moral reforms? I answer, The True Church--the special Church mentioned in the New Testament Scriptures --a saintly few, called or separated from the world and separate and distinct from all the denominations, "Christendom" gives us her official count as four hundred millions and the Jewish count as twelve millions. Judged in this broad, general way, who will dispute that the twelve millions of Jews are not in advance of the average of Christendom intellectually and morally?
But Christendom is not the Church of Christ at all. The term is a misnomer. It signifies Christ's Kingdom; whereas Christ's Kingdom, Messiah's Kingdom, is not yet, but is still waited for by the Jews and by the true Church --the saintly "little flock" of the New Testament. Both Jews and saintly Christians still pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done;" and both still recognize that Messiah's Kingdom is the need of the world, and the hope of the world--and both are waiting for it.
The true Church is neither Presbyterian nor Methodist, Lutheran nor Roman Catholic, Greek Church nor English Church, Baptist nor Disciple. The true Church is not a human organization at all. It is composed of saintly people whom God is gathering as His own elect from all nations, peoples, kindreds, tongues and from all denominations and from outside of all denominations. It will be composed of some who were Jews, some who were Catholics, some who were Armenian, etc. This true Church is the great Messiah, a hundred and forty-four thousand--twelve thousand for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, as referred to in Revelation. These are referred to by the Lord saying: "Gather my saints together unto me, saith the Lord, those who have made a Covenant together with me by sacrifice" --self-sacrifice--by a full surrender to the Divine will in thought and word and deed. This class as a whole is the Messiah, the spiritual seed of Abraham, as the Jews are his natural seed. God referred to the latter, saying to Abraham, Thy seed shall be as the sand of the seashore. He referred to the Messianic few when He said, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven. (Gen. 22:17). This spiritual seed of Abraham, one hundred and forty-four thousand, a multitudinous Messiah, must first be developed, glorified, spiritualized, before the world can be blessed. And the blessing of the world can come only through the Divinely-appointed natural seed of Abraham--believing Jews. If all the Jews could be turned into Presbyterians, Baptists, etc., there would be no people ready to fulfill the great work which God's Word declares shall be accomplished through Abraham's posterity. Does this make clear my reasons for not wishing to turn the Jews into Presbyterians, Baptists, Roman Catholics, etc.? Does it make clear my reason for urging the Jews to a preparation mentally, morally and physically for the great work that God has for them to do? I hope so.
As for the spiritual seed of Abraham of all nations--the first opportunity to participate therein was granted to the Jews, and it is my conviction that that Messianic company, all saintly, will be composed more largely of Jews than of any other nationality. The great Head or Captain was a saintly Jew. Its most prominent members, His followers, were saintly Jews, and thousands of saintly Jews were subsequently gathered, is [OV157] the record--some from each of the twelve tribes. Additionally, however, God has been gathering a saintly few from all other nations, kindreds and tongues, to complete the total elect number--one hundred and forty-four thousand. From what we know of Jews, Gentiles and Christians, comparatively few give evidence of saintship --comparatively few claim to be saints--to be fully consecrated, devoted to the Divine service. From what we know of the scarcity of these saintly ones to-day, we might well wonder whether so many as one hundred and forty-four thousand could be found in eighteen centuries; but we have every confidence in the Wisdom of our great Creator and the testimony of His Word--that the full complement of the elect is about completed-- the Kingdom, therefore, about to be set up.
Heavenly vs. Earthly Prospects.
Since only the saintly who walk the narrow way have any Divine promise of a change of nature from human to spiritual--since only these will be like unto the angels, much of the present-day religious teaching of Christendom is erroneous. The masses of Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc., etc., are being wholly misled into supposing that they have any chance or prospect whatever of "going to heaven." That great resurrection change, in a moment, from earthly to heavenly nature, in the resurrection, will be only for the saintly. All the unsaintly should know definitely that their prospects are entirely earthly-- the very same blessings that are promised to the Jews, only that these blessings will come "to the Jew first." The Jew, on the contrary, knows that the Law and the Prophets teach nothing about a heavenly and a spiritual condition, but wholly concerning a blessing coming to earth under Messiah's regime; then the wilderness shall blossom as a rose and the solitary place shall be glad; then the earth shall yield her increase and the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth; then every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to the Lord's glory; and they shall build houses and inhabit them and long enjoy the work of their hands--for the blessing of the Lord will be with them. And all evildoers, all resisting the Divine arrangement, will be cut off in the Second Death, and that without remedy, without hope of a resurrection.
Again I ask my Jewish friends to consider whether I am trying to "mission" any of them for Catholicism, Presbyterianism or any earthly ism when I clearly declare that their own expectations in every respect are much more nearly correct than those of the various Christian denominations?
Whether any Jews of to-day might still wish to become members of the Messiah company by becoming saints of God, is another question. If there are any, they are probably so few that the Jews would not miss them. Just so, also, with the Presbyterians, Methodists, etc. The saintly anywhere are few. The very thought of self-denial and saintship is repugnant to the majority of all denominations. They are really of the world and mistakenly suppose themselves and call themselves members of the Messiah Church, the true Church. This is not a disrespectful comment, either. Many of these are noble-minded and noble-souled in their efforts at earthly reform, and have our God-speed. It is to their disadvantage, however, and ours, that they do not discern the inappropriateness of the term, Church of Messiah, as belonging to themselves; called moralists or by any other true and appropriate name, they would be worthy of hearty encouragement along the lines of social uplift. The day cannot come too soon when the name Church of Messiah will be applied only to the saintly of every nation. The Jews will recognize the great Messiah in God's due time--yea, all nations shall recognize Him--"The desire of all nations shall come." But this will be after His completion--after the last saintly one shall have been tested, found worthy and glorified.-- Romans 11:11,12,26-32; Gal. 3:29.
[OV158]
PASTOR RUSSELL AND THE MONITOR
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
PART I.
(Part II will appear in the October Number.)
"When doctors disagree, the patient must decide."--Pastor Russell. MR. EDITOR--I seek not your columns for strife, acrimony or defamation. It is mine to seek to set forth the Wisdom from above, which is the noblest science and the best instruction. Amongst my warm friends the world over are many most zealous Catholics and Protestants, and others of no earthly church affiliation. I strive to offend none, but to serve my God, His Truth and all who are truly His people. The Monitor (San Francisco), exercising its proper liberty, has sought to counteract the influence of my presentations on "What Say the Scriptures Respecting the Hereafter." No doubt the Monitor's editor is conscientious, and many of its readers as well, and no doubt they will all accredit me with similar honesty. The subject, approached from this standpoint of respect for each other's beliefs, is bound to do good--to stimulate thought. Figuratively, God is Light; in Him is no darkness. In proportion as we turn on the true light of His Word and order our minds and conduct in harmony therewith, we shall be blessed. The turning on of the light can never damage the Truth --only the darkness suffers and flees.
The Monitor Requests this Reply.
In its opening paragraph the Monitor introduces its side of the discussion by asking me the same question that the scribes and Pharisees of old asked of Jesus: By what authority doest Thou these things and who gave Thee this authority?--authority to teach and to do good. (Matt. 21:23.)
We quote as follows:
"As the Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle speaks with a show of authority, and asserts that the belief of Christians in general about eternal punishment is all wrong, we would politely ask him for his credentials and his documents. In whose name do you teach, Pastor Russell? Who sent you? Who made you the interpreter of God's Word? When was it said to you, mediately or immediately by Christ, 'Go teach?' Or when was given you the assurance, 'I am with you alway, even to the consummation of the world?' Can you trace back your pedigree in unbroken line to the Apostles? Where are your letters patent? Where are your documents? The burden of the proof, you know, lies on the accuser. You have accused Christians in general of being wrong on the point of everlasting punishment. Give us a real argument to sustain your accusation. Your teaching would be, O, so soothing to the sinner, Pastor Russell, were it only true. But it is not true, Pastor Russell."
Pastor Russell Answers the Questions.
All authority to speak in the name of God must come from Him, and He says, "He that hath My Word, let Him speak My Word." (Jer. 23:28.) This statement is made by way of showing that many are teaching and preaching their own dreams, imaginings or the dreams of their forefathers, in neglect of the Word of God--the Holy Scriptures. Jesus charged the religious rulers of His day, saying, "Ye do [OV159] make void the Law of God through your traditions" (Matt. 15:8,6,9)-- teaching as commandments of God what are really the traditions of men. Similarly, I claim that both Catholics and Protestants, with good intentions, have gradually left the Word of God-- the teachings of Jesus; the Apostles and the Prophets--and that, commingled with certain truths, they are now teaching traditions of the "Dark Ages" violently antagonistic to the teachings of the Bible.
The questions touching my authority, my right, to interpret the Bible and to speak in the name of the Lord are so nearly the same questions which the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees asked of Jesus and the Apostles, that I may without impropriety, I hope, follow the same line of answer which they gave. The authority of our Lord Jesus, standing amongst those ecclesiastics of the Jewish Age, consisted in the fact that He had received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the time of His baptism. In consequence, "the heavens were opened unto Him"--the higher things, the heavenly things, were clear to Him. This was the secret of His teaching power, because of which we read, "All the people bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth, for He taught them as One having authority (as One knowing what He was talking about), and not as the scribes" --the Doctors of the Law. In a word, our Redeemer's ability to teach came to Him through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But so far as the public were concerned, they knew not of this; His right to teach consisted in the fact that He could teach--that He could make plain the Word of God, so that the common people heard Him gladly and said, "Never man spake like this man."--John 7:46.
Similarly the Apostles were commanded not to teach and told that they had no authority to teach--that all the chief priests and scribes and Pharisees condemned the Message they bore. But their answer was, Whether it be right to obey God or to obey man may be a question in your minds, but as for us, we cannot refrain from speaking the things which we have seen and heard and know.-- Acts 4:19,20.
We have seen that Jesus obtained Divine sanction and authority to speak in the Heavenly Father's name when He received the Holy Spirit. We note the same thing respecting the Apostles. Jesus told them not to preach the Gospel Message until they should be endued with power from on High. He bade them wait at Jerusalem for the Divine benediction of the Holy Spirit. This anointing or authority to preach came to them at Pentecost--and thenceforth they preached and taught, not human traditions, but the Word of God, the Holy Spirit enlightening them as to the proper interpretation of its symbols and prophecies.
Nothing in the Bible sanctions the view held by our Catholic brethren, to the effect that Apostolic authority and power have been handed down through the Bishops of the Catholic Church or any other. On the contrary, the Bible repeatedly speaks of "The twelve Apostles of the Lamb"--St. Paul taking the place of Judas. This is pictured also by the Master Himself. He symbolically represents the true Church as a woman clothed with the Sun--the light of Divine favor and Truth and grace--and on her head was a crown of twelve stars, representing the twelve Apostles--no more. The Lord pictures His Church in her future glory--at the close of this Gospel Age--when she will be complete and experience the First Resurrection and become God's holy Kingdom, the Messianic Kingdom. The picture is that of the New Jerusalem, whose dominion is to bring Divine blessing and uplifting to all the families of the earth. The New Jerusalem is declared to be a symbolical picture of the elect, saintly Church after her marriage with the Lord at His second coming. That symbolical City is represented as having twelve glorious foundation stones --and no more--and in those twelve foundation stones were the names of [OV160] the twelve Apostles of the Lamb--and no more.
It is thus seen that the authority to teach possessed by our Lord and by His twelve apostles has not descended to any others by human ordination. Of these twelve alone it is true that whatsoever they declared was binding in the sight of heaven, would be binding; and whatsoever they declared to be loosed, or not binding, would be so from the Divine standpoint. We are thus assured of the infallibility of the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.-- Matt. 18:18.
But the Apostle Paul declares that although all are not Apostles, all are not Prophets, yet there are teachers, ministers, servants, in the Church, placed there, not by Apostolic power, not by Apostolic laying on of hands, but, he says, "God hath set the various members in the Body as it hath pleased Him"--including teachers, evangelists and prophets or orators. But could these teach without an anointing somewhat similar to that received by Jesus at His baptism and by the Apostles at Pentecost? No; God's seal or mark which He places upon those whom He appoints to be special teachers is the same Holy Spirit.
St. John tells us of this, saying, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know it"--that is, whoever has the unction or anointing of the Holy Spirit of God is aware of the fact (1 John 2:20), and this unction or anointing of the Holy Spirit gives more or less ability to understand the deep things of God--in proportion to the measure of the Holy Spirit received and in proportion also to the natural talents of the person thus blessed. Every one thus anointed is commissioned or authorized to speak as a mouthpiece of the Lord in proportion to his talents and opportunities and privileges. He may speak only what he may understand, and not speak of himself nor expound the theories of others, but merely God's Word, the utterances of Jesus, the Apostles and the Prophets.
We may thus see who have the right and ability to teach God's Word. Sects and systems, Catholic and Protestant, claim this right, but without Scriptural authority. The Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans and other ecclesiastical systems each claim the right (the Divine right) to set apart, to authorize, to qualify, to empower, teachers of the Divine Word, mouthpieces and oracles of God. But none of them can show any scriptural authority. Their strongest claim is custom; but the very oldest wrong custom and misconception is without weight and without force when investigated. How many of the clergy of all denominations demonstrate that whatever came to them at their ordination has done them no good, but rather harm, in connection with ability to expound the Word of God! The attitude of all is described by the Lord and the Prophets.--Isaiah 29:11-14.
On the contrary, let us note the beautiful simplicity of the Divine ordination through the baptism of the Holy Spirit: St. Peter declares, in harmony with all the Apostles, that it is not a clerical class which constitutes the Church of Christ, but a saintly class. And all those saintly ones are Spirit-begotten, Spirit-anointed. They all, therefore, have the authority to preach and to teach as messengers from God to the extent of their opportunities. St. Peter, addressing all saints regardless of sectarian lines and names, regardless of sects, and ignoring any clergy class, says to the Spirit-begotten children of God, "Ye are a Royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Pet. 2:9.) The introduction of his Epistle shows that these words are addressed to the saints in general and not to the clergy, for he recognized no clerical orders, but, like the Master, said, "All ye are Brethren and one is your Master, even Christ."
The Church of Christ is pictured as a human Body of which Christ is the [OV161] Head. This Body as a whole, from Pentecost until the end of the Age, has the supervision of the Head. Although absent from us in person, He is present with His people by His Spirit and power. This relationship between Christ and the Church was typified in Aaron, the Jewish high priest. The anointing of Aaron to his office typified the anointing of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and the bringing of all the members of His Body under the influence of that same anointing--the Holy Spirit. Thus the Psalmist pictures the anointing of the Church, as symbolized in Aaron; as upon Aaron's head the oil was poured which ran down his beard and even unto the skirts of his garments, and as this constituted him the anointed priest of the Lord, so the Holy Spirit upon our Lord, the Apostles and their saintly footstep followers constitute these the Lord's representative members and mouthpieces of Jehovah. Thus it is written prophetically of the Christ, Head and Body, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the good tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, etc.--Isaiah 61:1.
Claiming this Divine authority to expound God's Word to the extent of my ability, let me proceed; for I am one of those specially mentioned in His prayer saying, "Neither pray I for these (Apostles) alone, but for all also who shall believe on Me through their word."--John 17:20.
Where Lies the Burden of Proof.
The Monitor claims that the burden of furnishing proof that there is no purgatory, no eternal torture, rests upon me. This is strange! If the Monitor or anybody else had ever been to Purgatory or to eternal torment and could, therefore, testify to their claims as a matter of knowledge, those disputing their statements would not even then be called upon for proofs that there are no such places. It would still remain for those claiming to have seen Purgatory and hell and to have suffered there to give proofs of what they had seen and experienced. We are not accusing Christians, Catholic or Protestant, with being intentionally wrong. They are doubtless as honest as we were when we believed and taught the same heathenish doctrines, which St. Paul styles "doctrines of devils." (1 Tim. 4:1.) We are merely urging that all Christians, Catholic and Protestant, awake from the stupor of the dark past and go back to the simple and beautiful teachings of the Savior and His inspired twelve. We urge them to do this before they fall into the great gulf of modern infidelity which is rapidly swallowing up all the intelligent people of the world under the name of Higher Criticism, Evolution, Theosophy, New Theology, etc. The Bible is being discarded because it is misunderstood--because it is supposed to be in accord with and the real foundation for the horrible misconceptions of the Divine Character and the Divine Plan most thoroughly believed by our forefathers for centuries past.
The Monitor's Proof-Texts.
The Monitor proceeds to give proofs (?) of a hell of fire and torture, but it says not a word respecting Purgatory --the very place which it, as a Catholic mouthpiece, claims will receive the great mass of humanity for roasting, sizzling and freezing its saints. Why this oversight? Ah! we think now! It may have been because the Monitor knows that nobody knows anything more about purgatory than does itself, which is--nothing. It knows that there is not a word of Scripture teaching that there is such a place as purgatory. It knows that it is merely human tradition concocted long after the death of the inspired Apostles--tending greatly to make void the Word of God.
Since the Monitor ignores purgatory we must assume that it takes the Protestant view of hell as being only alternative --the eternal-torturous abode of nearly all of Adam's posterity. We [OV162] protest that the fiction of purgatory has helped to make the Catholic view of the future a little more rational, saner, than the Protestant view. Neither view is tolerable in our estimation. Both suggestions are travesties upon Divine Justice calculated to repel every reasonable mind, every lover of justice, every person of heart or sympathy. Endorsing literal fire and everlasting torture,
Here are the Monitor's Words:
"And with your leave, I now shall tell There is, and why there is, a hell.
"The gentlest heart that ever beat, the kindest lips that ever spoke, have clearly told us for our warning that there is a place where those who will not glorify God's mercy here and hereafter shall glorify His justice by the double pain of loss and sense forever."
With these words, the editor produces his weighty arguments and his proof that Jesus taught such a hell:
1. St. Luke 16:19-31--the account of the "Rich Man and Lazarus."
2. St. Matthew 25:31-46--the parable of the "Sheep and the Goats."
3. St. Mark 9:42-48--the Master's words respecting the cutting off of a displeasing hand or of a foot, rather than be cast into hell fire, where their worm dieth not and the fire is never quenched.
The Monitor then says:
"That these and similar passages of Scripture touching the existence of hell and its two-fold everlasting pain of loss and sense are to be taken literally, there can be no doubt. For it is a rule of criticism, and of Biblical criticism in particular, always to take words in their literal meaning unless there is a good reason for doing otherwise. Now, there is no such reason in the present case. The only reason with any show of force about it that might be advanced is the difficulty of understanding with absolute clearness and certainty how material fire acts on immaterial or spiritual being like the angelic nature or the human soul."
We agree with the Monitor and all sensible people in the above statement, and we want to point to some reasons why this method of interpretation overthrows the Monitor's contention that these Scriptures are to be taken literally--as teaching that all except followers of Christ will suffer tortures everlastingly. Bear in mind that we are not discussing what the punishment for sin will be. We are not claiming that sinners will escape a just penalty for sin. We are claiming that eternal torture or purgatorial tortures for sinners would not be just, rational, sane punishments, but, on the contrary, would exemplify a brutality and devilishness which has no parallel in the most degraded of our fallen race. Let us examine the proof texts now in turn:
Jesus Taught Parabolically.
The Apostle records, as the Prophets had foretold, that Jesus opened His mouth in parables and in dark sayings and without a parable spake He not unto the people. (Matt. 13:34,35.) This has been a part of our difficulty. We have taken the words of Jesus literally when their very form should have shown us that they could not have been meant literally. Do we not use figures of speech to-day? For instance, if in conversation some one said to us, "When John Smith heard that, he burst into tears," would we understand literally that John Smith burst and became a shower of tears? A certain judge, addressing a colored woman who spoke of her husband's ill-treatment, asked her if she had tried the Apostle's remedy of heaping coals of fire on his head. She replied, "No," but that she had tried hot water without avail. An ignorant person might, perhaps, thus misunderstand the Apostle's figurative language. But is that an excuse for us, who claim to be more intelligent, to misunderstand it? Do we not remember St. Peter's words, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which shall try you?" Who is foolish enough to suppose that St. Peter meant literal fire? Hear the Apostle Paul telling about the trials [OV163] of faith to be expected in the end of this Age: He says, "Every man's work shall be tried so as by fire." Those who have built with gold and silver and precious stones will have their work approved. Those who have filled their ears with false doctrine--"wood, hay and stubble"--will find their work disapproved. The fire of that day will consume it. (1 Cor. 3:12-15.)
St. Paul tells us that some will pass through that fire unscathed, and others will have their work destroyed, but will themselves be saved so as by fire. His intention clearly is that this Age will end with a great time of sifting along doctrinal lines. The false doctrines represented by wood, hay and stubble, are now taking fire and will be entirely consumed, whereas all the truths of God's Word symbolically represented by the Apostle as jewels of gold and silver and precious stones --these will stand the test and abide. Let us build our faith, then, with the proper materials which God's Word supplies. And let us remember the Apostle's words, to the effect that the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished. (2 Tim. 3:16.) And the implication of this is that the decisions of the councils of the "dark ages" are not only unnecessary for God's people of to-day, but are injurious in proportion as they are out of alignment with the words of Jesus and the Apostles.
(1). The Rich Man in Hell.--
Many of us in the past, like the Monitor, have viewed this as a literal account without noting the absurdity of so doing. According to the account, that rich man went to hell because he was rich, had plenty to eat every day, lived in a good house, wore some purple clothing and some fine linen. Not a word is said about his being profane or wicked. If these be grounds for going to eternal torment we should all begin to discard all purple-colored garments, to wear no fine linen, to fast and generally to get poor. Evidently the majority of people have not this view of matters, but are living as nearly like that rich man as they know how. Does such an interpretation seem rational? Or should we seek an interpretation that would not take these statements so literally as they read and as the Monitor advocates? Look at the other side of the parable--the poor beggar, foul, ulcerated, hungry, licked by dogs, was carried to Abraham's bosom--not a word about his saintship or any other qualification. Do the editors or any of the employees of the Monitor office hope ever to get to the future heavenly bliss, and are they striving to be just like that beggar in all particulars? And if they should reach Abraham's bosom, might it not be that the old gentleman's arms would be full of beggars after eighteen hundred years? This is the literal interpretation of our Lord's words which the Monitor advocates as so reasonable as not to require interpretation symbolically. Well, the Monitor has its right to its opinion, and it may be that we are obtuse. For the sake of other obtuse people, we will proceed to give an interpretation of our Lord's words as we believe they were meant to be understood--as a parable:
The rich man represents the Jewish nation. His favor with God was represented as riches. The rich man's bountiful table represented the Divine promises given, up to that time, exclusively to the Jew. Thus St. Paul interprets the Jewish "table" of blessing in Romans 11:9. The rich man's purple represented the royalty which belonged to the Jews under the Divine promise that Messiah's Kingdom should be established through the Seed of King David. The rich man's fine linen symbolized righteousness or justification imputed to the Jewish nation year by year through their atonement --sacrifices.
The beggar at the rich man's gate represented the reverent and devout of the Gentiles and the outcasts of the Jews who hungered and thirsted for a share in the Divine promises given to the Jews. They got only occasionally [OV164] crumbs of comfort. The beggar's sores and nakedness represent his unworthy condition--sin-sick. The dogs, his companions, represented fellow-Gentiles; for all Gentiles were styled "dogs" by the Jews. As samples of the "crumbs" which fell from the rich man's table we note the healing of the centurion's servant and the healing of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman. To the latter, when first she asked, Jesus said: "It is not fitting to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs." The woman recognized the metaphor immediately--the Jew occupied a place of favor represented by children. She, as a Gentile, was in disfavor as a Gentile dog. Her reply was: "Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the children's table." (Mark 7:25-30.) Jesus rewarded her faith by giving her a crumb of favor, the healing of her daughter. (Mark 7:25-30.) If, now, we have located the rich man and the beggar of this parable, let us see how they died and what was accomplished for them:
The poor man represented a class who died to their estrangement from God and His promises and favors. This occurred three and a half years after the cross when Cornelius the Centurion, the first Gentile received into the Church, received his blessing, and when the door of opportunity opened before all honest and sincere Gentiles just as widely as to the Jew. There "the middle wall of partition was broken down." The humble and faithful, hungering and thirsting, were carried by the angels, the ministers of God not literally to Abraham's bosom, but to that which the expression symbolizes. Abraham is styled the father of the faithful. All the faithful in Christ Jesus are recognized Abraham's children, and as such are received figuratively to His bosom. Thus the Apostle writes the Gentiles (Eph. 2:12,13), Ye were aliens, strangers, foreigners to the commonwealth of Israel, but are now brought nigh and become children of God through faith --the children of Abraham, who typified the Heavenly Father, even as Isaac typified the Redeemer.--See Galatians 3:29.
The Rich Man in Hades.
All scholars are aware that in the Bible the Greek word hades in the New Testament is the equivalent of the Hebrew word sheol in the Old Testament. All are aware that these words signify the tomb, the state of death, and not a place of suffering or torture, at all. The word that is rendered hell fire in our English Bibles is a different word, namely, Gehenna, which we will consider later.
If hades signifies the state of death, the tomb, how could the "rich man" suffer there? We reply that the rich man is to be viewed from two different standpoints--national and individual. Nationally the Jew went into hades-- their kingdom and nationality have been buried for eighteen centuries; but individually the Jews are very much alive, and for all of these eighteen centuries that their nationality has been buried, they have been suffering injustices and tortures, and, alas, chiefly from those calling themselves Christians, but denying both the power and the spirit of Christianity. There is an impassable gulf between the saintly Lazarus class and the Jews. God has not wished that the Jewish nation should amalgamate with other nations nor with Christendom. He has a special work for the Jews to do in the near future, and for this very purpose He has preserved them as a people for now thirty-five hundred years. In his sufferings the Jew at times has made an appeal, desiring that the Lazarus class might give a symbolical drop of water --of comfort and refreshment; but this has been denied. As an illustration of such an appeal, many of us remember the Jewish protest against Russian persecutions and their request of Mr. Roosevelt, when President, that he intervene. President Roosevelt expressed sympathy, but declared compliance with the request impossible, as it would be a violation of the comity of nations.
[OV165]
PASTOR RUSSELL AND THE MONITOR
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
PART II.
The Jewish nation consisted of twelve tribes. Some of all were at Jerusalem in Palestine, the center of their national life. But two tribes, mainly, were represented there--Judah and Benjamin. These two, therefore, may be specially considered as the rich man in the parable. His five brethren mentioned would correspond to the remaining ten tribes residing in the countries round about. The parable shows that no special favor would be shown to those brethren--"They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." These words clearly identify the rich man and his brethren as the twelve tribes of Israel to whom God's favors and blessings came through Moses and the Prophets.
Cannot all see clearly that this parable, which is the mainstay of all the eternal torment doctrines and teachings, has been misunderstood? Its teachings are beautiful and in entire accord with the facts of history and revelation.
II.--The Goats in Everlasting Fire.
This, also, is a parable, and not a literal statement. Besides, it applies not to people now living, but to people who will be living in the world during the thousand years of Christ's reign following His second advent. The context tells us this. We read, When the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all His holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the Throne of His glory, and before Him will be gathered all nations.--Matthew 25:31-46.
The Son of Man has not yet come in His glory. He is waiting for the development of the Church, His saintly Bride class, which is to sit with Him in His Throne and share His glory, and, with Him, participate in the judging of the world--"Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?"-- (1 Cor. 6:2.) This parable, then, belongs not to the Church, nor to this Gospel Age, but to the world's Judgment Day or trial time in the coming Age, the thousand years of Messiah's reign. Mankind are represented as sheep and goats. Surely these are symbolical. Surely mankind will not turn into sheep and goats! We must interpret it symbolically. Like a shepherd the great Messiah will, during the thousand years, instruct, uplift and enlighten humanity. Such as receive the instructions and come into full accord with Him are styled sheep, symbolically, of course. And they are placed at His right hand, symbolically, of course, signifying a place of favor. The others, the wayward, not developing the graces of character under these instructions, will be goats, in a symbolical sense, of course, and will be gathered to Messiah's left hand of disfavor. At the conclusion of that glorious thousand years of Divine favor, uplifting, restitution (Acts 3:19-21), the consummation of the matter will have been reached. The sheep class, perfect, glorious, will be ushered into life everlasting. The goat class, wilful rejectors of Divine favor on the Divine terms, will receive death everlasting! their everlasting punishment. But what kind of punishment will it be? St. Paul answers, "They shall be [OV166] punished with everlasting destruction." Destruction will be their punishment, just as death is the capital punishment in the State of New York, California and elsewhere. St. Peter says of each: "They shall be destroyed from amongst the people." (Acts 3:23.) Again, he tells us that they will perish like natural brute beasts. (2 Pet. 2:12.) What could be plainer or simpler than this? The word used by our Lord, in the Greek rendered punishment, is kolasin. It signifies restraint, cutting off. It has no thought of torment connected with it.
The question may arise, Why did our Lord use the words, "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels?" Fire is here used as a symbol of destruction, and the word everlasting has its full import, as St. Paul expressed it, "everlasting destruction." Is not fire as good a symbol of destruction as a sheep is a symbol of a child of God, or a goat a symbol of a follower of Satan? We can think of no better symbol of destruction than fire--nothing more destructive.
But the Monitor raises the suggestion that matter is indestructible. Very true. The burning of a human body in a literal flame or the burning of the same body by the chemical action of the atmosphere, more slowly, would reduce it to dust and gases. Nothing would be lost. But man is more than a body. The intelligent will, thought, etc., which constitutes a human soul or human being, is something more than a body, and is not subject to the same conditions. The soul can be destroyed. Intelligence can be blotted out. The human will perishes when the spark of animal life quits the body. And it is the soul that the Bible declares is responsible for sin, and not the body. It was Adam, a soul, that was condemned to death. It was Adam and the souls of all his children that were redeemed by Jesus' sacrifice. As it is written, He redeemeth thy soul (life, being) from destruction.--Psalm 103:4. The death or destruction of Adam's soul would have meant annihilation had not the Almighty provided the redemption. The redemption price was the death of Jesus' soul; as we read, "He poured out His soul unto death; He made His soul an offering for sin." Likewise it was Jesus' soul that was raised from the dead; as we read, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol, hades, the grave," etc. (Acts 2:27.) This is St. Peter's explanation not ours.
Because Adam, a soul, and all his children's souls have thus been redeemed (not from torment, but from sheol, hades, the tomb, the state of death), therefore we have the Master's own words, "All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth." The First Resurrection will consist only of the holy, the saintly, whose trial is in the present time, and who will be awakened to their reward to sit with Messiah in His Throne. During the thousand years all the remainder of the dead will be awakened and given the opportunity of resurrection or raising up out of sin and death. That will be a resurrection, of judgment, or trial, or testing for them, because only those who will conform to the tests of that time will ever be fully raised up. The others, the goat class, will be destroyed in the Second Death.
III.--Looking Upon the Carcasses.
The Monitor's third proof-text of eternal torment is found in St. Mark 9:42-48. The Lord advised all rather to cut off their right hand or pluck out their eye than to go into gehenna fire "where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."
We read recently of a poor man in Sweden who took the Monitor's literal view of this step and chopped off his right hand. He thought the statement literal and acted according to his faith. We doubt if the Monitor's editor has done the same, or would be likely to take this passage literally if the conditions were ever so favorable. It is worthy of note that the word here rendered hell fire, is not the same Greek [OV167] word that is generally rendered hell and which signifies the tomb. The word here is gehenna. It refers not to some place beyond the bounds of time and space, but to a valley just outside of the walls of Jerusalem. As Jerusalem typically represented the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God, and harmony with God, so this Valley of Hinnom, called in the Greek gehenna, symbolized the utter destruction of all finally impenitent and contumacious sinners in the Second Death--"everlasting destruction." This is acknowledged by the Monitor, which says:
"Gehenna originally stood for 'the valley of the sons of Hinnom.' It was notorious as the scene in earlier days of the horrible worship of Moloch. Later, when the Jews fell away from the true worship of God, they even went so far as to burn their own children to the demons of that region. It was a place that had been defiled by Josiah, cursed by Jeremias, and for these associations held in abomination by the Jews, who according to the course of time, used it to signify also the fiery and cursed abode of the damned. This is the very usage of the term that Christ Himself adopted."
The Monitor styles it the abode of the damned. But what is the real meaning of the word damned? All will agree that it signifies condemned. So we say that gehenna will be the abode of all condemned to the Second Death as the filth and offscouring of the earth, unfit for the Divine favor and blessing of life everlasting. The Valley of Hinnom (gehenna), in our Lord's day, was deep and was used as a garbage place for the destruction of valueless things. No living things were ever cast into it--only dead carcasses, rats, mice, dogs, etc. Many of these, falling along the sides of the Valley would gradually decompose. Maggots would breed in them and speedily reduce them to dust. These are the worms mentioned by Jesus, that died not. These worms are not alive now; they were like any other worms. Jesus meant that, as the worms surely accomplished the destruction of the refuse cast therein, so, complete destruction awaits the wilfully wicked. No one thought of killing those worms or stopping their ravages. They were doing good work.
When Jesus spoke of the fire that was not quenched, he referred to the burning of brimstone in the bottom of this gehenna. Its use was intended to destroy bacteria, the germs of disease, and help to preserve the health of the city. Those who heard Jesus had no thought that he meant for them to cut off their hands or their feet, or pluck out their eyes. Neither did they understand Him to mean that the wicked would be literally cast into that or any similar gehenna. They interpreted the parable properly to mean that any sin we may cherish, be it as precious to us as a right hand, a right foot, or a right eye, would be too costly to continue if it were to lose for us the everlasting life and harmony with God symbolized by the New Jerusalem--if it would win for us the Second Death, symbolized by gehenna and its worms and fire.
The Monitor evidently knew about the prophecy which corresponds exactly to Jesus' words, but it does not cite it. We will do so. It is found in Isaiah 66:24. The context shows us that the prophecy relates to the future--to the period of Messiah's Kingdom, when all will be expected to worship God and to obey, under the assistance of the great Mediator between God and men. Then, however, transgressors will perish, and the righteous will look upon the carcasses of them that transgressed against God, whose worms shall not die, whose fire shall not be quenched. It will be the carcasses that will be in evidence, and the worms and the fire, and the people will see these. It will not be a roasting of souls by devils with pitchforks to all eternity! A little Scripture helps to dissolve much of the confusion of the "dark ages."
The Monitor Agrees with Pastor
Russell.
The Monitor agrees that the literal meaning of the word sheol, the only [OV168] word translated hell in the Old Testament, is the grave. It says:
"Pastor Russell thinks to do away with the Biblical reason for a hereafter of punishment by calling attention to the fact that the word sheol, the Hebrew term for hell, literally means, the grave. It is to be remarked first that the origin of this word is doubtful. The general agreement among Hebrew scholars is that it comes from another Hebrew word meaning to be sunk in or to be hollow; accordingly signifying a cave or place under the earth, and hence a grave. But as in all other tongues, so in Hebrew, words have several significations related or connected with their original meaning."
Very good. No scholar would think of questioning that the primary meaning of sheol is the grave, and that the word sheol in the Common Version of the Old Testament is translated grave and pit more times than it is translated hell, but means grave or pit every time. The Monitor thinks, however, that it sees an objection, and that sheol does not always signify the grave. It cites us to Jacob's lament over the supposed death of Joseph. Jacob said, I will go down into sheol unto my son mourning. The Monitor argues that, since he thought his son had been devoured by wild beasts, he could not refer to going to the grave. The Monitor must take a broader view of the word grave and consider it the tomb, the death state. Otherwise he would be forced to the supposition that Jacob expected the same wild beast to devour him, so that he could go to his son.
In order to understand the Bible we must approach it with free minds, unbiased, and seek to be taught by it instead of seeking to make it support our own theory or irrational theories of the past. In old English literature the word hell was freely used as signifying grave or pit or any covered state or condition. Thus a man might speak of the helling of his house and mean the thatching of it with straw, the one-storied buildings of olden times being buried under the thatch. Farmers in olden times wrote, telling how many bushels of potatoes they helled in the fall--buried in pits to keep them from sprouting that they might be dug up for use in the spring. Whoever will take the trouble to look up every one of the sixty-six occurrences of the word sheol in the Old Testament may satisfy himself without a doubt respecting the meaning of the word, that it refers to the death state, the tomb. Hades in the New Testament corresponds to this, and is used to translate sheol in Acts 2:27, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell," and in 1 Cor. 15:55, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" As before stated, the only word translated hell which has fire connected with it in any sense is gehenna, which is a metaphor, as we have already explained.
Whatever sheol is, it is to be destroyed. It is not to last forever, for the Lord so declares, "O sheol, I will be thy destruction." (Hosea 13:14.) The grave, the tomb, the state of death is to be destroyed. The death penalty which came upon the race through our Father Adam's disobedience is to be cancelled, obliterated, as a result of Jesus' sacrificial death, the Just for the unjust. The thousand years of Messiah's reign will be devoted to this very work of destroying Adamic death--the death which has come upon the human family because of Father Adam's disobedience. From the Bible standpoint, the whole human family are dead, in the sense that they have no right to life because imperfect.
Thus Jesus speaks of them, saying, "Let the dead bury their dead; go thou and preach the Gospel." During Messiah's reign, the knowledge of the Lord will fill the whole earth. Every creature will be enlightened. All the blind eyes shall be opened. All the deaf ears shall be unstopped. All that have gone down into sheol (the tomb) will come up; thus sheol will be destroyed, to be no more.
St. Paul confirms this, declaring that ultimately a great shout will go up, "O hades, where is thy victory?" Hades now is having a great victory; [OV169] its captives number ninety thousand every day. But soon Emanuel's Kingdom will be established, and instead of the reign of sin and death will come in the reign of righteousness unto life--the turning back of the tide-- the recovery of the race. By the close of Messiah's reign He will have accomplished a great victory over sin and all opposition, including death, which will be the last enemy to be fully destroyed. (1 Cor. 15:25,26.) Then will be brought to pass the saying, "O hades, where is thy victory?" --Vs. 54,55.
The Monitor closes with an appeal to believe in eternal torment based on its final text on the subject, St. Luke 12:4,5:
"I say unto you, my friends: Fear not them that can kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will show you whom you shall fear; fear Him who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him."
Strange to say, the Monitor does not perceive that this, its last thunderbolt, shatters its own argument! The argument is that the Lord's disciples should not fear men in their loyalty to principle, because men could merely kill the body, could merely take away the present life and could do no more. Men could have no power to vitiate or render inoperative that privilege of everlasting life which God has provided for all mankind through Jesus. On the contrary, all should know that God is able to destroy the soul, the future life, in gehenna. He, and He alone, is to be feared. The present life is of minor consequence, anyway. It can last but a few years at most. The life we are most interested in is the eternal one, which Jesus has secured for all who will accept it on His terms, but which will be missed by all those who fear and obey men rather than God. Compare Matthew 10:28, remembering the Monitor's definition of gehenna, to which we agree, with supplemental explanation respecting the future, antitypical gehenna.
The Monitor's Impassioned Appeal.
The Monitor closes with the following old-fashioned appeal, which many erroneously suppose to be Scriptural-- "To doubt is to be damned." It says:
"What a mad act it is to close one's eyes on the edge of an abyss, only to fall into it the more surely! Better hard truth than false security."
The difficulty with the Monitor and with many others of us in the past has been that we kept our mental eyes closed and imagined hobgoblins and dreamed nightmares respecting fireproof devils with horns and forked tails and cloven feet, etc., which are not only unknown to the Scriptures, but thoroughly contrary thereto. If the Monitor is still blind, notwithstanding the eye-salve of exposition which we have endeavored to apply as gently as possible, we shall consider its case hopeless and leave it with the masses of the world for that blessed future time declared through the Prophet when all the blind eyes shall be opened. Then they will see the hitherto undiscovered length and breadth and heighth and depth of the love of God. Then they will see that Satan and his fallen angels, instead of being afar off stoking fires, have been right here with humanity, posing as angels of light and doctoring our theology to make it picture the Almighty God as the most horrible and monstrous Being of the Universe, and His Plan of dealing with humanity the most diabolical and unjust possible for the human mind to conceive.
These "doctrines of devils," as St. Paul calls them, have had a good, long trial, and the result is, that those who believe these things most thoroughly are very generally the worst people in the world. Rarely do we hear of a murderer being executed who has not professed faith in these monstrous theories of the past, still advocated by the Monitor.
If preaching bad tidings of misery to nearly all the people has brought so little good fruitage in so long a time, would it not be well for the Monitor [OV170] and all who claim to be ambassadors and mouthpieces for God and for Christ, to preach for a while the blessed Gospel first announced to Abraham: "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed?" The same message was heralded by the angels who proclaimed Jesus' birth, saying: "Fear not; we bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people"--all people from thenceforth and all people who had died during the four thousand years prior to Jesus' birth.
It was the full belief in these "doctrines of devils" which led our forefathers, as Catholics and Protestants, to burn each other at the stake. And it is partly because these doctrines are less believed to-day than then that we have a better, safer, saner religion, more in accord with the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. It is the Gospel of God's love and mercy that is proving now a blessing to the saintly few who have ears to hear and hearts to fully respond. And it will be the Gospel of Divine mercy toward mankind in general, throughout Messiah's Kingdom, which will bless, uplift and captivate the hearts of mankind in general during the Millennium. Whether the majority of these thousands of millions will become sheep at the right hand of Messiah and gain eternal life, or whether the majority will be of the "goat" class, who will fail to get that eternal life, and instead get everlasting destruction, is not for us to determine. We can, however, declare with the eye of faith, "True and righteous are Thy ways, Lord God Almighty! Who shall not come to worship before Thee when Thy righteous dealings are made manifest?" (Rev. 15:3,4.) The righteous dealings of God will bring a sure penalty to every one in proportion to his degree of knowledge and wilfulness, but it will bring a just, and not an unjust penalty, and it will be remedial-- with a view to the recovery of the penitent and his everlasting blessing. Otherwise it will terminate in his everlasting destruction.--2 Thess. 1:8,9.
SWEET DAY OF REST
I KNOW some day my Lord will come,
And stand within my humble home,--
His glorious presence in the room
Will make it like a rose in bloom.
His voice, like music on mine ear,
Will banish every thought of fear,
He'll fold me closely to His breast
And there in peace I'll sweetly rest.
And, oh, my Lord, on that sweet day
I know the words that Thou wilt say,
"It is enough, my child, come home,
Thy work is done, beloved, come."
Then I'll arise and go with Thee
Across the shining, crystal sea,
Until we reach that blissful shore
Where we shall dwell for evermore.
[OV171]
CIVIL BAPTISM IN FRANCE
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
THERE IS AN old adage which says, "Politics makes strange bed-fellows." So the efforts of humanity to get free from ignorance and superstition often leads to ridiculous procedures.
Long centuries ago our good forefathers got the impression that our great loving Heavenly Father had a devilish disposition, and was intent on the eternal torture of nearly everybody. The account in Genesis, which explicitly tells that death is a penalty for sin--"Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return"--was twisted into meaning what the poet styles, "A death that never dies," whatever kind of a death that might be.
Generally the thought prevailed that God had condemned Adam and all his posterity to eternal torture, and the only escape from it lay through Church membership. One of the early "fathers" decided that this included children, and forthwith it became the custom to have all the little ones immersed. Then came the decree that immersion was not necessary, but that a few drops of water on the head, with the words, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit," would make the child fireproof-- God would not hand it over to the devils, but would count it a member of the Church and save it. If it grew and became a rare saint, it would go to heaven; otherwise it would go to purgatory, there to be refined and made ready for heaven.
Gradually the subject became still more intensely interesting. The question arose and was debated: When does the child's life begin? What if the child should die in the moment of being born? Would God then send the little one to the devils and eternal torment? The theologians of that day decided "Yes." Consequently our Catholic forefathers decided that the only way to keep even with God's determination to torture all the unbaptized, all not Church members, would be to have the attending physician fully authorized to baptize the child "in utero," if there were any danger of the child dying in birth.
How strange all this sounds to-day. However, these practices still go on, as for centuries past; but those who authorize and practice them keep quiet and do not discuss them, well knowing that the more general education of our day and our broader appreciation of Divine Justice and Divine Love would be shocked by the truth respecting these ceremonies instituted in the "Dark Ages."
Nevertheless, the majority of Protestants, as well as Catholics, still are very careful and particular about the baptism of infants. If a babe show signs of illness, the inquiry will pass throughout the relationship, "Has the child been baptized?" which means, Have you taken out the fire insurance against eternal torture? How sad that the great Heavenly Father's name and character should be thus misunderstood and misrepresented amongst those who profess to be His people, His children, and who profess to be taught of God through His Word, the Bible.
There was an excuse for our forefathers, when Bibles were expensive luxuries and when few could read them. But there is less excuse to-day when Bibles, paid for by legacies, can be had free from some of our great Bible societies, and when all can read. [OV172] Is it not time for us to awaken from heathenish doctrines?
His Two Babies in Hell.
Not long since, when delivering lectures in various parts of Wisconsin, we were introduced to a man who had followed us from city to city, a journey of nearly three hundred miles, intent upon hearing the "good tidings of great joy." We were told the story of his interest. He was a saloon-keeper and a Roman Catholic. A colporteur called at his house selling Pastor Russell's "Studies in the Scriptures," or helps to the understanding of the Bible. The man replied, "No, I do not want to know anything about the Bible nor anything about God. He has treated me most cruelly. He uses His power unjustly. He has punished my two little girls, dead within a few days of each other of diphtheria. Our hearts already were suffering greatly because of their sudden taking away. As Catholics, we went to our priest desiring for him to arrange for the funeral service and the burial of the little children in holy Catholic ground. The priest sent me word that he would have nothing to do with the matter, that I had not been a regular attendant at the Church, and had not had my children baptized, and that they had gone to hell--not even to purgatory. Can I love a God who would send my two innocent little children to be roasted by devils simply because I neglected my duty and did not have them sprinkled with water in the Holy Name? No, I cannot." The colporteur explained the matter from the Bible standpoint. The bereaved parents became deeply interested. They both are reading the books. They have experienced a complete turn-over of their minds. They have learned that God is Love, and that all of His provisions are gracious and reasonable.
There is indeed a doctrine of baptism in the Bible--a most beautiful doctrine, and full of meaning. Our Baptist friends come the nearest to an understanding of the Bible teaching on the subject. But, alas, they, too, are far from appreciating the true meaning of baptism, as the Bible teaches it. If any of our readers are interested in pursuing this subject further and exhausting it, we recommend to them the reading of one chapter in the series of Pastor Russell's "Studies in the Scriptures," which are sold at cost price. Those unable to purchase may obtain the loan of a book free, we are told.
French Perversion of Baptism.
There is in progress to-day in France a most peculiar perversion of the Bible teaching respecting baptism. As is well known to many, the French Government recently passed laws which put the Church of Rome in France on nearly the same basis as are the Roman Catholic churches in America. The principal difference in the arrangement is that there the Church properties were taken possession of by the Government in the name of the people, under the claim that they were built by the money of the people and rightly belonged to the people and not to the hierarchy. It was not, however, the intention to hinder the use of the buildings for Church purposes. Merely the congregations were commanded to organize as congregations and to receive the right to use the buildings as formerly. The Government wished it to be understood that the buildings belong to the people and not to the Pope at Rome.
The bishops and clergy, acting under the advice of the Pope, withdrew and left the churches without priestly services, masses, etc., probably under the belief that the people would demand of the Government a restoration of the old order of things. Not that Catholics more than Protestants are interested in the study of the holy things and desire priestly instruction! Not that they wanted to go to church! Rather they said to themselves, As death comes into the family, the people will crave the ministries of the priests and the holy water, the holy [OV173] candles, unction, holy burial ground, etc. Furthermore, they will want, as heretofore, to have their babies christened, and thus preserved from eternal torture! Then they will call for the priests, and the Government will be obliged to hear them, and we will make our own terms respecting return.
The Catholics of France no longer believe in the infallibility of the priests and the value of the masses, the holy oil, consecrated burying-ground, etc. Indeed, like the thinking people of every other part of the world they are going rapidly away from all faith and calling everything religious superstition. Alas, that the pendulum swings from one end to the other! Alas, that the beautiful simplicity of the Bible and the reasonableness of its teachings and the comfort thus inspired are thus unseen, unknown, to the masses, both Catholic and Protestant!
The French are a very practical people, and are adapting themselves to the new order of things. They now have civil marriages and civil burials. And the last innovation is civil baptism. Here is the account of this latest innovation:
"Paris, Aug. 5.--Civil baptism, invented by that picturesque figure, M. Coutant, mayor and deputy of Ivry, near Paris, has been taken up with enthusiasm in various parts of the country. At Macon, in Burgundy, the ceremony is specially popular, and the Mayor of Flace-les-Macon has just instituted a form of procedure more elaborate than anything yet devised. This was first employed on the 14th of July, the national fete.
"After receiving at the mairie, the parents of the infant, accompanied by the god-parents, he handed the family a copy of the following remarkable document which was previously transcribed on a special register:
"Civil Baptism.
"Marie Philiberte Seve, daughter of Louis Seve and of Philomena Charcosset, gardeners at Flace, welcome to the great family of those whose minds are freed from religious dogma!
"In the presence of M. Philibert Seve and of Madame Marie Claudine Bacot, thy godfather and godmother.
"I, Anthony Coran, officer of the civil authority, Mayor of the commune of Flace-les-Macon;
"In the name of the universal principles of free thought!
"In the name of the glorious revolution of 1789, mother of the rights of man and of the citizen!
"In the name of the French Republic, democratic and laic!
"I baptize thee and give thee these three commandments, for which I take publicly and solemnly as witnesses and guarantors these thy godparents, here present:
"1. Thou shalt honor thy country, thy father and mother, and shalt serve them.
"2. Thou shalt uphold with all thy strength, justice and truth.
"3. Thou shalt fear nothing except to do ill to thy neighbor.
"And now, Citizeness Marie Philiberte Seve, return to the home of thy parents to be their joy and to live in peace."
Here follow the signatures of the Mayor, the parents and the godparents.
Alas! how one superstition and error, falling, gives place, not to the Truth, but to another error! How glad we are that the Bible declares that Messiah will soon establish His Kingdom, and that then the saintly ones of Christ's followers, irrespective of denominational lines and creeds and irrespective of nationality, will be with Him and associated with Him in His kingly and ruling office and in His priestly and teaching office. Then, and not till then, will the knowledge of God cover the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep. Then, and not until then, will the darkness flee away before the true light--"the Sun of righteousness with healing in His beams."
[OV174]
THE GREATEST THING IN THE
UNIVERSE
C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
THE TEXT of this discourse is from Ephesians 2:7: "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His loving kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." All Christendom has erred in respect to the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the love of God, which passeth all understanding. (Ephesians 3:18,19.) This is evidenced by our conflicting creeds, not one of which is rational enough to be defended by one in a hundred of its own clergy, who profess that they believe it and are teaching it.
This is driving many noble souls away from the Bible, which has been misinterpreted by us all. Our difficulty has been that we have looked at the unfinished parts of the Divine Program, and have neglected to properly use the telescope of God's word, which would have enabled us to see the future features of that plan, without which the whole world would be incomplete and unsatisfactory.
Wonderful Divine Plans.
None of us would judge of a new building merely by the first story of the structure, incomplete and surrounded by scaffolding. On the contrary, we would inquire for the architect's drawings and consider them prophecies of the building to be.
God proposes the development of the church first, as a "new creation" on the spirit plane, higher than the angels, and "partakers of the Divine nature;" "Ye are the church of the living God;" "a kind of first fruits unto God of His creatures."
The fact that the Bible declares the church to be the "first borns," the "first fruits" of God's creatures. Thus does God positively declare a secondary part of His great plan of salvation --in which "free grace" and fullest opportunity for reconciliation to God will be granted to the non-elect.
But their salvation will be, not heavenly, but earthly. Their resurrection will not mean a "change" of nature, but a raising up to the perfection of human nature, to be enjoyed in a world-wide paradise by all the willing and obedient. Nor will the unwilling and disobedient be tortured to all eternity, but, as the Scriptures declare, "All the wicked will He destroy;" they shall "perish like brute beasts," in the "second death."-- 2 Peter 2:12; Psalm 9:17, R.V.
Foundation of the Great Structure.
In order to judge of the Divine character we must see the truth, the Divine program, and not merely a primary section of it. The Jewish age and its people, its law, its mediator, its priesthood and its jubilee were only rough outline sketches of the Divine plan, which had not then even begun. The Redeemer is the foundation for the great structure, as said St. Paul, "Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid--Jesus Christ."
A God of justice, wisdom and power devoid of love would be as cold and unsympathetic as a marble statue. The greatest thing amongst men is love. [OV175] Neither palace nor cottage could be a real home and a place of joy and peace and refreshment without love. We cannot even suppose a heart devoid of love without supposing it under the control of selfishness, and selfishness is merely another name for sin.
The greatest men and women who have ever lived, and who have done the most to bless our race, have been men and women of heart, of love. Surely, love is the principal thing in all this world, without which none can be truly happy under any condition, but with which happiness is possible under almost any condition. Whence came to man this quality of love unless from the Creator?
The Display of Divine Love.
God's love will be most wonderfully displayed in His gracious kindness in the resurrection of the church to glory, honor and immortality. Then will come a further display of "love divine, all love excelling," when mankind in general shall be blessed under the Messianic Kingdom.
We are not informed respecting the work of the church beyond their thousand year reign; the text merely assures us that Divine love is illimitable, and that those who now shall prove themselves loyal, even unto death, shall have blessing upon blessing through future ages.
Astronomy assures us that, aside from the planets which belong to our own system, all the other stars are suns, with whirling worlds about them, invisible to us. Photography shows stars which cannot be seen with the eye. The number of these suns is now reckoned at more than 100,000,000. Although this sum is quite beyond the power of human comprehension, there is a general agreement among astronomers that if we stood upon the farthest world we should probably see just as many suns beyond us as behind us. What a suggestion we have here of Divine power --omnipotence! How little we feel ourselves to be, and proportionately how amazing seems the love of God toward us in Christ Jesus!
The Lessons Taught by Sin.
Does our text speak of "ages to come for the showing forth of God's love toward us?" Ah! what a limitless eternity is provided! Nor can we doubt that the lessons taught through the permission of sin among humanity on our earth are designed of the Creator to furnish a great lesson throughout ages to come.
The church, the new creation, will undoubtedly be associated with the Redeemer as Jehovah's agents in creating inhabitants in all of these billions of worlds. And who will say that even the witness of God's justice and love, in the perfected world of mankind, might not be taken to tell in other worlds the story of Adam's disobedience and fall; the story of the reign of sin and death for 6,000 years; the story of the redemption accomplished through the sacrifice of Jesus; the story of the selection of a faithful "little flock" of his footstep followers to be His bride; the story of human restitution to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed through Jesus' death; the story of the second death visited upon the unwilling and the disobedient, that eventually every creature should bow the knee and confess with joy, and acclaim the Father and the Son!
BUILD a little fence around Today,
And therein stay;
Look not through the shelt'ring bars
Upon Tomorrow,--
Sufficient for each day, the evil
And the sorrow.
[OV176]
"SONGS OF THE NIGHT"
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
The Lesson Psa. 85
"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."-- Psa. 126:3. WE ARE STILL in the night of weeping. Sickness, sorrow, sighing and dying continue, and will continue until the glorious morning of Messiah's Kingdom breaks. How glad we are to have learned that then the glorious change will come to earth. The Prophet David expresses this thought, saying: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psa. 30:5.) St. Paul expressed the same sentiment when he declared, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the Sons of God" (Romans 8:22.) The Sons of God in glory will, with their Lord, constitute Emmanuel's Kingdom, and at present these Sons of God are comparatively little known or recognized amongst men; frequently they are considered "peculiar people," because of their zeal for righteousness and truth, and for God. "Beloved, now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is," and we shall share His glory, honor, and immortality and with Him scatter Divine blessings to all the families of the earth."
A Song of Deliverance.
Our lesson, the 85th Psalm, may properly have served several applications. The first of these would be to Israel's deliverance from the Babylonian captivity, when Cyrus gave permission that all who desired might return to Palestine. About fifty-three thousand--a small number--availed themselves of this privilege and of his assistance. The people rejoiced in this manifestation of the turning away of Divine disfavor, and the return to them of God's favor and blessing. The pardon of their transgressions as a nation was here evidenced in this privilege of returning to God's favor.
A secondary application of the Song is just before us. Israel has been in a far greater captivity in Christendom during the past eighteen centuries. She has the promise, nevertheless, of a mighty deliverance. The Cyrus who granted them liberty to return from literal Babylon was a type of the great Messiah who is about to give full liberty for the return of God's ancient people to Divine favor--to Palestine.
Israel's sins have not yet been taken away, even as the world's sins have not yet been taken away. The great Redeemer has, indeed, died for sin, and He is the sinner's friend, but as yet He has only appeared in the presence of God for us--the Church--not for the world. He is only the Church's Advocate now. He advocates for none except those who come to God and give Him their hearts and lives; and these are the saintly only--such as love righteousness and hate iniquity.
The world is enslaved by Sin and Death, the twin monarchs who are now reigning and causing mankind to groan. We were born in this enslaved condition, as the Scriptures declare: [OV177] "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, in sin did my mother conceive me." Our race, groaning under the weaknesses and imperfections we have thus inherited --mental, moral and physical, long for the promised deliverance from the bondage of sin and death. The majority of mankind undoubtedly feel the gall of their slavery, and will be glad to be free.
Deliverance at Hand.
The great Deliverer is the antitypical Cyrus. Soon He will go forth to victory, and will establish His Kingdom under the whole heavens. Soon the Church class, the saints, "the elect," will be glorified, and then the time will come for the blessing of the non-elect--for their restitution to human perfection and to a world-wide Paradise, which Messiah's power and Kingdom will introduce. "He must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Sheol, hades, the grave, will be no more; death will be destroyed by the resurrection of the dead therefrom, "Every one in his own order."
Many of the Lord's people who can see something of the blessings due at the second advent, and who appreciate in some measure the fact that the Lord comes again to bestow the great blessings secured by His death, fail to see this other proposition; viz., that those in their graves have as much interest in that glorious reign of Messiah as those who at that time will be less completely under the bondage of corruption --death. But as surely as Jesus died for all, they all must have the blessings and opportunities which he purchased with His own precious blood. Hence we should expect blessings in the Millennial Age upon all those in the grave as well as upon those not in it; and of this we will find abundant proof, as we look further into the Lord's testimony on the subject. It is because of God's plan for their release that those in the tomb are called "prisoners of hope."
The prevailing opinion is that death ends all probation; but there is no Scripture which so teaches. God does not purpose to save men on account of ignorance, but "will have all men to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4.) Since the masses of mankind have died in ignorance, and since "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (Eccl. 9:10), therefore God has prepared for the awakening of the dead, in order to knowledge, faith and salvation. Hence His plan is, that "as all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive."
The Secret of Joy.
While the whole creation groans under its load of sin and sorrow, the saints may sing and rejoice, even in the midst of all the sorrows of life, even though they share the results of sin as fully or even more fully than do others. The secret of their joy is twofold: (1) They have experienced reconciliation to God; (2) They have submitted their wills to His will. They obtained this new relationship by the way of faith in the Redeemer--faith in His blood of Atonement. They entered by the "strait gate" and "narrow way" of consecration to God-- surrendering their own wills and covenanting to do the Divine will to the best of their ability. This submission of the will to God and the realization that all their life's affairs are in God's keeping and under His supervision give rest to the heart. They have a rest and peace in this surrendered condition which they never knew when they sought to gratify self-will and ignored the right of their Creator to the homage of their hearts and the obedience of their lives.
Believers Visualize Stories to Come.
Similarly, these have joy and peace, and songs of thankfulness to God, because to them He grants a knowledge of His Divine purposes, and shows them "things to come." These see beyond the trials and tribulations of the present time--they see the glories that will follow the present time of suffering. These see that the Church, the [OV178] saintly ones of all denominations and of all nationalities, are prospective heirs of God--heirs of glory, honor and immortality; and associates with the Redeemer in His glorious Kingdom. This encourages and stimulates them. They also see the outlines of the Divine Program for the blessing of all the families of the earth. When they thus perceive that God is interested in their dear ones who are not saints, and interested in the whole human family, very few of whom are saints, it gives them cause for rejoicing. When they perceive that God has arranged that through Christ and the glorified Church all the families of the earth shall be blessed, it makes them "joyful in the house of their pilgrimage"--while waiting for their own change from human to Divine nature. Seeing the provision which God has made for the world of mankind, they are contented, and are glad to have God's will done in themselves and in all the earth.
SOMETIMES I ALMOST WONDER
SOMETIMES I almost wonder if my Lord doth
really know
About the many little things that wound my poor
heart so.
I can but wonder if He knows the anguish of my
soul,
When tempests beat upon my head, and surging
billows roll;
I wonder if He hears at night my weary, longing
sighs,
I wonder if He sees the tears that tremble in mine
eyes!
I wonder if my burdens weigh upon His tender
heart,
And in my many sorrows, if His great love shares
a part!
***
Ah! no, I will not wonder, I will silence every
fear,
I've read that "in His bottle He doth treasure up
each tear;"
I know that He who heeds the smallest sparrow when
it falls,
Will surely, surely hearken when His own child
feebly calls;
I know that He who stilled the waves on Galilee's
dark sea,
Will bid the storms of life, "Be still," that rudely
threaten me.
Ah! no, I do not wonder, I am sure my Lord doth
know
About the many, many things that wound my poor
heart so!
[OV179]
A JOYFUL MESSAGE FOR THE SIN-SICK
BY C. T. RUSSELL
Pastor of Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me."-- John 14:1. THE WORLD does well to keep up a cheerful, outward demeanor--to "drive dull care away" to the best of its ability. Nevertheless, there is great force and weight to St. Paul's words to the effect that "the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together, waiting" for Messiah's Kingdom and its long-promised blessings to lift the curse of sin and death and to restore to mankind the smile of the Father's favor. Reason though they may, that there is no personal God-- that there is merely a blind god of nature, an evolutionary force, etc., nevertheless, deep down in the heart, men believe that there is a God. Almost unconsciously the mind attributes to Him Wisdom, Justice and Power-- but little of Love or sympathy with humanity and its frailties.
Root of All Trouble.
This very intuitive knowledge of God is closely associated with many human troubles. As the root of nearly every trouble, perhaps deep below the surface, is sin--disobedience to recognized principles of righteousness, and a fearful looking for of retribution, and uncertainty as to what it will mean. This is true, not only of many Christians, but frequently true also of others who have made no profession, who have taken upon them no solemn vows of obedience.
This troubled heart condition does not always show upon the surface. Sometimes the troubled heart is in the theatre to try to forget its troubles. Sometimes its owner is immersed in sinful pleasure-seeking, in endeavor to drown some haunting grief. Sometimes relief is sought through intoxicating liquors or narcotics; sometimes in suicide. Sometimes the troubled one is on the stage. One cannot surely know that the merry laugh and witty joke and cheery song do not come from a troubled heart. We are sure that they do, in many instances, for frequently those who have been indulging in merriment have committed suicide a few moments thereafter, leaving messages that their hearts had been severely burdened, while outwardly cheerful.
We have much sympathy with these sorrow-laden hearts. As a race we are walking through "the valley of the shadow of death," day by day. On every hand we have reminders of this --grief, disappointment, headache, heartache, etc. If we are measurably free from pain ourselves, yet have sympathy, we are pained in the interest of others. If none of our own dear ones has recently died, the great Enemy, Death, has laid hold upon the home of a neighbor, a brother, and he is bereaved and a reflex shadow falls upon our hearts; and further, the thought comes that our home may be invaded by the great Enemy which has already swallowed up twenty thousand millions of our race--and that by Divine permission, because we are sinners --and because sinners are unworthy of everlasting life.
The Fear of the Lord.
In our troubles, we sooner or later realize the lack of human sympathy [OV180] or, at least, its impotency. Feeling our helplessness, we instinctively look to our Creator. In the hour of trouble remarkably few doubt the existence of God. As Jesus said, "Ye believe in God." But as we look to the Almighty for protection and consider Divine Justice and realize our own weaknesses and shortcomings, the heart of man fails. How could he think that the Omnipotent One would have interest in or care for such a worm of the dust as he feels himself to be? How could Divine Justice look with any sympathy upon the course of selfishness which he recognizes stretches out behind him in full view of the All-Seeing Eye?
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," is the inspired Message. Surely many have this beginning of wisdom come to them at some period in their life's experience. But such a fear is the start of wisdom only when it leads the fearful one to greater carefulness of living and to a desire for the Heavenly Father's approval. If this be the leading of the fear, it is indeed the precursor of, the leader to, wisdom. As proper fear or reverence for the Almighty comes in, it acts as a restraint upon sin. It tends to make one more thoughtful, more careful, more wise, in seeking for a better way.
Come by the Narrow Way.
Jesus addressed the words of our text to Jews who, under the instruction of the Law given by Moses, had learned of Divine righteousness and the Divine requirements of all those who would come into harmony with Him. They believed in God. They recognized His Justice. They were desiring to be His people; they had heard of Jesus; they had traveled with Him as His disciples. In a general way they believed in Him. To a large degree they accepted Him as the promised Messiah, and yet they found it difficult to express a fullness of faith. We would like to bear home upon the hearts of these the very Message that Jesus gave to those who heard His Voice: "Let not your heart be troubled --ye believe in God; believe also in Me."
Hear Him saying to us to-day, You already believe in the Creator and His Justice. You already desire to draw near to God. You have heard that He has sent His Son into the world. You have heard that this is a manifestation of His love and sympathy for you. You have heard that while you are condemned as imperfect, as sinners, as unworthy of eternal life, Divine provision has been made for your recovery through the Redeemer. As you believe in the Father's Justice which condemned you and which justly holds you at a distance from Him as unworthy of His favor, so now believe also in Me. Believe that the Father hath sent Me. Believe that it is His Love for you that prompted the sending. Believe that His Love is as strong as His Justice. Believe that His Justice and Love will co-operate for your eternal comfort and blessing, if you will accept the Divine terms.
Losing Our Heart Troubles.
The Father knows your heart troubles. He wishes the burden to be there until you shall appreciate its weight-- until you shall be ready to cry to Him that you are sin-sick, weary, troubled, and above all, hungering and thirsting for righteousness and desiring reconciliation to Him--the smile of His face. He has not waited for all of this to take place before making provisions for you. He has anticipated your needs, your longings, your necessities. He has already provided the Redeemer, who is Mighty to save. If Divine Justice is exacting to the last degree, believe that Divine Love, as represented in the Redeemer sent of God, is equally exhaustless, boundless --sufficient for all your needs. If you will accept of this, the Divine arrangement through Christ, your heart troubles may be at an end. You will still have troubles in the flesh, weaknesses, aches and pains, but your heart will be joyful and happy in a fellowship Divine with the Father, through the Son. [OV181] How to Get the Peace.
Ah! says one, I have heard of God and of Jesus and of the invitation to reconciliation, but I know not how to proceed. To whom shall I go? How can I gain a hearing in my case to obtain the blessed assurance, Thy sins are forgiven thee; go and sin no more. Which church shall I join? To what priest shall I confess?
First of all, my brother, or sister, allow me to rejoice with you that you have come into the condition where you are seeking and knocking for the opening of the storehouse of Divine favor, because "He that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Continue, then, to seek and to knock, and very soon the blessings will be yours. See, first, whether or not you are seeking the proper blessing. You want forgiveness of sins that are past. You want the assurance of Divine love and care. You want the Heavenly Shepherd to take you for one of His sheep and look after your interests, both temporal and eternal. If so, good. You are seeking the very thing that God is pleased to give. Many are seeking something else--seeking to have some of self-will and some of God's will, some of sin and some of righteousness. They seek in vain until, in purity of heart, they seek that which God is willing to give.
All of God's gifts are by grace. None of us could claim them on the grounds of justice or merit. We cannot keep God's perfect Law, not because it is too exacting, but because we are fallen. We were born in sin, shapen in iniquity; in sin did our mothers conceive us. Be our wills ever so strong, our flesh is weak. The Divine arrangement of this Gospel Age is adapted to this very condition and is open for the honest-hearted, the sincere penitents, the ones fully determined for righteousness.
You need not come to any earthly priest, but as the Master said, go to the Father, in secret, in private. Go not in your own name, or merit, or worth, but in the merit of the Redeemer. Go Scripturally, claiming Him as your Advocate and appealing in His Name for the forgiveness provided by Divine mercy--to cover all the sins of the past and provide for all the imperfections unwillingly yours for the future--even to the end of the way. Coming thus, Jesus becomes your Priest, your Advocate with the Father. "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." (1 John 2:1.) "Let us come with courage to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need." (Hebrews 4:16.)
What will you say to your Father as you present yourself in the Name of Jesus, do you ask? In prayer tell Him that you are sick of sin and desirous of His righteousness; in every way tell Him of your appreciation of the glorious qualities of His Character and of your desire to be as much conformed to that Character as possible. Tell Him that you know you have nothing worthy of His consideration, except the merit of Jesus to be imputed to you, which will be the covering for your imperfection. Tell Him that you present your all thus justified by faith, that the merit of Christ may be imputed; that you desire to be a living sacrifice--to be faithful unto death to Him, to His Message in the Bible and to all who are, with you, following in the good way to the Kingdom.
Daily Dying--Daily Living.
Those who have acted upon the above directions of the Lord's Word and who have thus been accepted of the Father and begotten of the Holy Spirit, are thenceforth New Creatures in Christ Jesus. To them "old things have passed away and all things have become new." Their souls are not troubled, because they have passed from death unto life, from Divine disfavor to Divine relationship, as sons of God--and "If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, if so be that we suffer [OV182] with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:17.) Those who reach this blessed state are no longer heart-troubled. They will have troubles from the world, the flesh and the Adversary, but withal they have rejoicing--"The peace of God which passeth all understanding" ruling in their hearts.
But the end is not yet. The body has been separated from the will. The will has become identified with Christ and represents the New Creature, which will not be perfected, and in its new body, until the resurrection. Meantime, as the Apostle teaches, the flesh must be considered and treated as an enemy because of its weakness, its fallen condition. A struggle, a battle, must go on continually to the end of the course. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." The faithfulness of the New Creature, the will, will be judged by its loyalty to the Divine will and its strenuous endeavor to keep the body under--to be dead to the flesh and to the world and to be alive to the will of God. Every day should make us more alive as New Creatures and more dead as old creatures.
Scriptures Misunderstood.
At the present time we have 1,200,000,000 that in no sense of the word are called by the Lord, and therefore have had no opportunity of responding to that call. With the thought that has prevailed for centuries that these uncalled millions are doomed to eternal torture, the hearts of God's people have been very sorely troubled, and infidelity has been very greatly assisted into a denial of everything pertaining to Christian faith. All agree that it would be very unreasonable for the Creator of those 1,200,000,000 to expose them to the danger of eternal torment, and not give them the slightest opportunity for hearing of the only terms of salvation from it.
But when we get the correct, the Scriptural view of the matter, we see that the penalty upon those 1,200,000,000 is, "Dying thou shalt die," and that in this particular they are not different from their fathers, who were under the same curse, or sentence of death-- the Adamic condemnation.
We see from the Scriptures, too, that our Lord Jesus, "by the grace of God, tasted death for every man"-- "to be testified in due time." (Hebrews 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:6.) Jesus, therefore, tasted death for all these 1,200,000,000, and for all their forefathers. He has given the ransom-price for their sins as well as for ours, the Church's, and resultant blessing must come to them as well as to us.
The coming blessing is a rescue from the sin-and-death conditions in which they were born--an opportunity for rising out of those conditions of degradation, up, up, up to full perfection of nature, and all that was lost through Adam's disobedience. This work of Divine Grace, we see, is to be accomplished for the world during the Messianic Age, when Christ and the Elect Church will constitute God's Kingdom, with power and great glory for the blessing of the world.
THERE are great truths that pitch their shining tents Outside our walls, and though but dimly seen In the gray dawn, they will be manifest When the light widens into perfect day.
[OV183]
PARADISE BETTER THAN HONOLULU
(A sermon delivered by Pastor Russell in Hawaii)
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in a day? or shall a nation be born at once?"-- Isaiah 66:8. IN MY CHILDHOOD days every penny I could save was devoted to foreign Missions. The Hawaiian Islands and the Fiji Islands were prominent before the Christian world as missionary fields. I remember well that the establishment of a civilized government in these islands was hailed as the fulfillment of the text I have chosen-- "a nation born in a day." The thought then was that thus speedily the world would be converted and the glorious promises of the Hebrew Prophets fulfilled. How earnestly we labored and prayed, "Thy Kingdom come," thinking all the while that we were bringing the Kingdom of God to earth and fulfilling the Lord's Prayer!
Alas! we are having a rude awakening from such dreams. We are finding that if the Kingdom of God must be established by human power it will never be established. We are finding that the world's population is doubling every century. If we double our missionary enterprises every century, we would only be keeping pace with the natural increase of the human family. Statistics show us that there are twelve hundred millions of heathens to-day, and that a century ago there were only half as many. Alas! those missionary hopes of ours have gone glimmering.
But the awakening has done us good; it has taught us to think a little. We are now sensibly inquiring: Suppose we should convert all the heathen and make the whole world a Christendom of the same sort that we have in Europe and America! What then? Would God's will be done on earth as it is done in heaven--perfectly? Could we thus hope to bring in the glorious conditions prophesied, in which not only the knowledge of God would fill the whole earth, but additionally every knee should bow and every tongue confess in such a manner as to be to the glory of God? We see that such hopes would be worse than foolish; they would be ludicrous. Thus our awakening has done us good, and sent us again to God's Book to see wherein we erred in our expectations.
What Say the Scriptures?
The disillusion respecting great works of our own humbled us before God and made us realize our dependence upon Him for the fulfillment of the glorious prophecies. We have read our Bibles afresh. We have taken from our minds the spectacles of our forefathers with the color and gloss which they handed down to us. They are now reading God's Book in its own light, allowing God to be His own interpreter, and Himself to make it plain. And what do we find? Ah! wonder of wonders! We find the Divine Plan wider and deeper and higher than we had ever dreamed.
We find that the present Age, from Calvary and Pentecost to the second coming of Jesus, is not God's time for dealing with the world, opening their blind eyes, unstopping their deaf ears, and making every knee to bow and every tongue to confess. It is merely His time for the gathering out from every nation, people, kindred and tongue a "little flock" of such as have the hearing ear and the appreciative heart, to become the Bride of Christ and His joint heirs in His glorious Kingdom, the establishment of which will mean the blessing of all the families of the earth, as was promised to Father Abraham.
Well may we reason that if our God waited for four thousand years before He sent His Son to redeem the world, and has since waited two thousand [OV184] more for the selecting of the Bride of Christ, He must intend that the great Kingdom of His Son, the Messianic reign of a thousand years, is to do a great work for mankind in general. Such broad foundations, such deep-laid plans and arrangements foretell a grand and glorious outcome. Evidently God's Word shall be fulfilled, which He spoke, saying, "My Word that goeth forth out of My mouth shall not return unto Me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it."
And the Message Went Forth.
The message went forth in a primary sense in Eden, when God declared that eventually "the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head"--should crush evil.
His Word went forth still more distinctly to Father Abraham assuring him that he would have two seeds, two posterities, one "as the stars of heaven" and the other "as the sands of the seashore." The Church, with Christ her Head, constitutes this heavenly, starry Seed of Abraham, as saith the Apostle (Galatians 3:16,29), and with the completion of the Church will come the secondary blessing --the development of the seed of Abraham, as the sand of the seashore for multitude, every knee bowing and every tongue confessing, to the glory of God.
But this secondary seed of Abraham, the earthly seed, is to receive its blessing from the Heavenly Seed, hence everything waits now until the Church shall have been completed-- until the "very elect" shall have been gathered "from the four winds of heaven"--until all the followers of Jesus shall have been changed, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," as participants in the First Resurrection.
Then, oh, glorious Day! the Sun of Righteousness will shine forth-- Christ and His faithful Bride--to chase away the darkness, ignorance and superstition from the world and to fully enlighten mankind of every nation, people, kindred and tongue. In that glorious work of enlightenment the natural seed of Abraham will have a blessed share, and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets shall be "Princes in all the earth." (Psalm 45:16), perfect men, representatives of the glorious Messiah and His Bride in the earth, administrators of the Law, which will go forth from the glorious Christ, invisible to men.
Ah! that will be Earth's Jubilee! As in olden time, in the Jubilee year the Israelites returned to their own possessions, to their own homesteads, so in the Antitype, only the latter will be still more grand: The human family will come back into possession of its own--that which was lost by sin and its penalty, that which was recovered by Jesus, that which will be restored by resurrection power during the Messianic reign.
The Nation Born in a Day.
But what about our text? Did we misinterpret the Divine statement when we applied it to the acceptance by a people of civilization? Ah! yes; we made a very foolish mistake; the wish was father to the thought. Our misconceptions blinded us to the proper interpretation of that Scripture. What then does it mean? How should our text be applied? Ah, Beloved, that Nation to be born in a day is the Church, the Holy Nation, of which St. Peter spoke: "We are a Royal Priesthood, a peculiar people, a Holy Nation." (1 Peter 2:9.) The begetting of this Holy Nation began at Pentecost, and has continued down through the succeeding eighteen centuries and more. The birth will be the resurrection.
All who now receive the begetting of the Holy Spirit are reckoned members of this Holy Nation, but their membership in it is dependent upon their faithfulness; as we read, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne." The present life is to every one of these royal priests, or [OV185] priestly kings, as we may choose to express it, a period of probation. Will we or will we not "make our calling and election sure?" Not at the beginning nor at the time of our consecration is the matter decided, but after we "have fought the good fight and finished the course" and won the crown, by obedience even unto death.
For nearly nineteen centuries these royal priests have been testifying for the Lord, each in his turn. For all the faithful there is a crown of righteousness laid up; as St. Paul said, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day"--early in that day of Messiah, in the resurrection morning. All these have a part in the First Resurrection and will be members of that Holy Nation, that royal priesthood, as we read, "Blessed and holy are all they that have part in the Chief Resurrection; on such the Second Death hath no power; but they shall be kings and priests unto God and unto Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."
Thus will that Holy Nation which God has been gathering and electing during the nineteen centuries, out of all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, from Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, be born in a day--come forth perfect and complete, the Holy Nation of Divine promise which, as God's spiritual Empire, is to take over the control of the world for a thousand years and rule it in righteousness to free all from the power of Satan, sin and death, and to lift up again as many as are willing to the image and likeness of God, and to destroy all who love unrighteousness and work iniquity.
Paradise of the Pacific.
I can now well understand why your beautiful island has been described as the Paradise of the Pacific. I note your wonderful climate, and everything which co-operates with it to bring about this Paradise likeness. I say to myself, How gracious is our God! Not only has He provided a heavenly Paradise for the Church, that they should be sharers with their Lord on the spirit plane, partakers of the Divine nature, "far above angels, principalities and powers," but how gracious has God also been in His provision for the world at large--His promise of an earthly Paradise for such of humanity as, when brought to a knowledge of Himself and His requirements, shall gladly, heartily accept the same!
How wonderful is the Wisdom and Power of God by which He can make use of even the reign of sin and death to teach great lessons, both to angels and men respecting the exceeding sinfulness of sin! And how merciful and gracious is the arrangement He has made that when this reign of sin and death shall have accomplished His intended purposes, He will bring it to an end. Those twin monarchs which have ruled the world for six thousand years--Sin and Death shall be vanquished; and ultimately every member of Adam's race shall be delivered from their power. For the willing and obedient, the earthly Paradise, human perfection, the image of God in the flesh, is to be the reward --an earthly reward--and for the rebellious, the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption, no recovery, and in which, thank God! there will be no suffering, for they shall perish like the brute beasts, as St. Peter declares.--2 Peter 2:12.
Restitution Will Bring Real Paradise.
Much as your Island may resemble the Garden of Eden, it is not Paradise, and cannot be Paradise so long as you have sin and sorrow, pain and death amongst you. One of the first objects that greeted my sight as I landed was your cemetery, and I said: "Oh, yes, death is here, and everywhere--God's curse, declaring that no imperfect being may live." Well, I thank God for that, too. Centuries of life with imperfection would doubtless be too [OV186] much for us to have. Far better is it as Divine Wisdom has arranged it-- a birth, a struggle for existence, a battle with self and sin, the world, the flesh and the Devil, and then a falling asleep in death, until the morning of the resurrection. There will be no consciousness of even a moment's intervening until the glorious day shall have dawned, and the new order of things shall have been introduced and established; and then the sleepers will come forth to see a brighter side than any that they have previously experienced or ever heard of.
The Kingdom of God's dear Son and His elect Bride will be in power and nothing shall hurt or destroy in all his holy Kingdom. The blessing of the Lord shall be upon man, and his earthly dominion. Restitution influences will be at work for the bringing of everything to perfection--especially for the bringing of man up, up, up out of sin, weakness, degradation and death to the full glory of perfection of mind and body and vitality --the image and likeness of God, as at first, before sin entered.
Rich and Poor and Socialism.
You still have your rich and poor; there still is caste amongst the children of the one parentage; but when the uplifting influences of Messiah's reign shall have done their work, these things will all be in the past. "He that sitteth upon the Throne shall say, 'Behold, I make all things new!'" In that glorious time there will not be rich and poor, there will be socialism in the proper sense, as the Scriptures clearly point out; they say, "Every man shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree; and none shall make him afraid." And again: "They shall not build and another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat the fruit thereof." There will be no tenantry, no landlordism then.
Do not understand me to be inciting dissatisfaction with the present conditions. In many respects what we have to-day is the very best possible thing under present conditions--man's fallen nature and selfish temperament taken into consideration. The counsel of God's Word is that all who trust in Him are to wait for Him to bring in the better conditions. Some very well intentioned people are making a sad mistake; just as the morning is about to dawn--about to bring in the great blessings of restitution, socialism, etc., they blindly look in another direction and declare that unless they bring socialism to pass it will never come. We grant, indeed, that it would be foolish to expect that the rich would bring about the wonderful changes which the Bible foretells-- it would be contrary to human nature to so expect. But we do say that those who think to bring about socialism by human wisdom and human strength are deficient in wisdom. They do not see that what they propose is absolutely impossible--their eyes are holden.
The Bible alone shows us what will be the outcome of the present unrest and selfishness and dissatisfaction. The Bible tells that what will start as socialism will eventually develop into anarchy. The Bible shows that those who think they can bring in the Messianic blessings by carnal weapons are deluding themselves--they will, instead, bring upon themselves, as well as upon the rich, the great and awful trouble which the Scriptures foretell as being now imminent--"a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation." (Daniel 12:1.) Our Lord Jesus quoted this passage and added to it the words, "No, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21.) Thank God! that this one, great, awful conflict, in which every man's hand shall be against his neighbor and against his brother, will be the last. It will be so awful as to make the entire world sick of strife, of selfishness, of sin. Thus it will act as a great plowshare in the hearts of mankind in general, to break the hardhearted and to turn all hearts in expectation to the Lord and His glorious Kingdom.
[OV187]
THE CHURCH MILITANT'S SURRENDER
TO THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Say ye not, A Federation, to all them to whom this people shall say, a Federation; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid."--Isaiah 8:12. HAVING viewed what the leading denominations would need to sacrifice in the interest of Federation, we come now to the final discussion of this series --The Church Militant and Triumphant, and her interest in the Federation movement. Let us endeavor to take so broad a view of this subject that there will be no room for disagreement on the part of true Christians of any denomination.
The term Church Militant signifies the Church in warfare, struggling with the powers of evil, while the Church Triumphant signifies the Church victorious, glorious, joined with her Lord, the Heavenly Bridegroom, as his Bride and Queen in the great Mediatorial Kingdom soon to bless and uplift the world of mankind. It should further be added that while in this discussion we have considered the various denominations of Christendom and their creeds, we must now ignore all human systems and creeds. We must take the broad, general ground of the Scriptures and recognize only one Church.
Nor may we make the mistake of saying that the one Church is one Sect. No sect, no denomination, however great and influential and numerous and rich, either in sordid or historic wealth, can be conceded the right to appropriate the name which our Lord gave to all truly his disciples. Surely none of us is sectarian enough to dispute this premise. We must learn to recognize the Church of Christ from the same viewpoint as does the Head of the Church. We must learn the force of St. Peter's words to Cornelius, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him." (Acts 10:34,35.)
Taking, therefore, the Scriptural view of the Church, we recognize it as the "Body of Christ" of many members, over which He is the Head. It is composed of consecrated followers of Christ irrespective of all denominational lines--those who, turning from sin, accept Jesus as their Redeemer, through whom they have forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to the Father --those who have become disciples of Christ, taking up their cross to follow Him, and who have received the begetting of the Holy Spirit.
Who could dispute that these are the Church of Christ? Who shall say that they must belong to this Communion or that, or lose their relationship to the Head, Christ Jesus?
The Apostles never referred to Baptist Christians, Methodist Christians, Catholic Christians, Presbyterian Christians, and so forth, but merely to those whom we have described and whom they styled saints-- "the Church of the living God, whose names are written in heaven." (Hebrews 12:23; 1 Timothy 3:15.) Let us keep strictly within the lines of God's Word and avoid the errors of the past. Let us to-day consider this Church as the Church Militant and prospectively the Church Triumphant.
The Church Militant.
If we all agree that we have before our minds the real Church, the Church [OV188] of the New Testament, let us notice that there is a nominal Church also and that we are not competent to fully determine which are the real and which are the nominal Christians except by the test which our Lord has given--"by their fruits ye shall know them."
While the real Church of fully consecrated believers, faithful to the Lord and His Word and the principles of righteousness, is represented by a very small number, there is a nominal Church related thereto as is a shell to the kernel of a nut. The nominal Church includes those whose manner or whose attendance on worship implies a relationship to Christ without having gone the length of a full faith-acceptance of Him in sacrifice, perhaps without having fully turned from sin even in their hearts, and without having made a full consecration to serve the Lord.
This nominal mass may be subdivided into believers who are favorably disposed toward Christ and righteousness; others who regard the Church as merely a moral club designed for social and moral benefit or influence upon the world, by counteracting sinful influences; still others, bitter at heart, sinful and selfish, having no faith whatever in Jesus and no care whatever for morality and using the name of Christ hypocritically, merely as a garment to deceive, that they may the better gain their ends. Thus we find the nominal Church to consist of:
1. Hypocrites; 2. Moralists; 3. Indifferents; 4. Seekers after godliness; 5. The true Church, "the sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:2)-- "members of the Body of Christ"-- prospective members of the Church Triumphant.
Fightings Without and Within.
Every member of "the Church of the first-born" was called "to suffer with Christ" that he may be also later glorified with Him in the Messianic Kingdom. Only those who will stand the test of faithfulness under sufferings, trials, crosses, self-sacrifices, have the promise of sharing with Christ the glories of the Church Triumphant. "If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:11,12.)
But why should the Church fight? Is she not commanded to live peaceably with all? Are not Christians exhorted to war not with carnal weapons and to be smitten on both cheeks, rather than to return evil for evil? Where, then, comes in the fight? Who are the foes? Surely none would assail a non-resistant!
We reply that the facts do not bear out that suggestion. Our Lord and his Apostles were peaceable and non-resistant, obedient to kings and laws, and yet they suffered violent deaths, as well as stripes and imprisonment. They had their names cast out as evil. And those who persecuted and maligned them verily thought that they did God service.
Human nature is the same to-day. Notwithstanding the fact that heretic-roasting has become unpopular and intolerable to the world, there are methods of privately and symbolically roasting, slashing, wounding and killing practiced by those estranged from God, though sometimes highly esteemed of men and wearing vestments only slightly less glorious than those worn by Caiaphas and Pilate.
"Who Scourgeth Every Son."
The Scriptures explain that there is a two-fold reason why Jesus and all of His followers are required to suffer for righteousness' sake.
1. It is requisite to their own character development that they should not only profess absolute loyalty to God and to Truth, but that this loyalty should be put to the test. Thus we read of our Lord that though "holy, harmless, undefiled," he was proved perfect in His loyalty by the things which He endured--by His obedience even unto death, even the ignominious death of [OV189] the Cross. The same principle, the Scriptures assure us, operates in connection with all whom God is now calling to be Emmanuel's associates in the Mediatorial Kingdom. They must suffer with Him if they would reign with Him. They must walk in His steps (Galatians 5:11; 6:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:9,12; 3:12.)
2. These experiences are designed of God to qualify us to be judges of the world during the Messianic Age-- that the Christ, Head and Body, may be merciful and faithful towards the people of the earth. Likewise it is proper that the world should know that its judges have been thus tempted and tried, and are able to sympathize with them in their weaknesses and in their endeavors for righteousness-- and more willing to help them up, up, up to human perfection than to consign them to the Second Death.
Although this conflict has lasted for more than eighteen centuries it has not been long for any single individual. With the Master, Himself, the trial period was only three and a half years. On the whole, as compared with eternity, the entire Gospel Age of Sacrifice, as the Master said, is but "a little while." And as for the afflictions and testings themselves, St. Paul gives the proper thought, saying, that at most they are "light afflictions, but for a moment, and not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us," the overcomers (Romans 8:18.)
The Church Triumphant.
The Church in glory and in power will contain no hypocrites and no merely nominal Christians--only the true, the saintly, the "sanctified in Christ Jesus." Nevertheless it will be composed of two classes, as illustrated by the Priests and the Levites in the type. 1. Jesus glorified, the antitypical High Priest, and His faithful footstep followers, the antitypical under-priesthood, otherwise his "Bride." Together these are styled a Royal Priesthood, or a Kingdom of Priests.
St. Paul tells us that Melchizedek, who was a priest upon his throne, merely typified the Church Triumphant --Head and Body--The Christ, "A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" --a priest upon his throne. During the New Dispensation that glorious Priest, Head and Members, will bless and uplift, rule and judge, the world of mankind, with a view to recovering as many as possible, as many as will obey Him, from the ruin of sin and death. During the thousand years of the antitypical Melchizedek reign all the families of the earth will be blessed with opportunities of return to human perfection and to earthly Paradise. The unwilling and disobedient will be destroyed in the Second Death. At the close of the thousand years, Christ's Mediatorial Kingdom will terminate.
2. As the Levites were much more numerous than their brethren, the priests, so there is a corresponding class in the Church styled "a great company, whose number no man knoweth," in that they were not specially predestinated. These less earnest, less zealous than the faithful "little flock," will reach a plane of glory through tribulation also, but with less joy. These, we are told, will be with the Bride as her companions. As Levites they will serve God in His temple, but not be members of the temple class --the Priesthood. These will have palm branches and be before the Throne, while the Royal Priesthood will have crowns and be on the throne as members of the Body of Christ (Rev. 7:9; 3:21.)
The Church Militant's Surrender.
All the soldiers of the Cross, experiencing fightings without and within against the powers of sin and darkness and their own weaknesses, surely long for the time of their "change" in the "First Resurrection." They long for the time when this mortal shall put on immortality, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption; when we shall be like our Redeemer and see [OV190] Him as He is and share His glory.
Gladly, therefore, do all of God's consecrated people wait for the blessed change promised at our Lord's Second Coming--when that which is sown in weakness shall be raised in power; when that which is sown in dishonor shall be raised in glory; when that which is sown an animal body shall be raised a spirit body (1 Cor. 15:42-44,53,54.) Surely such, having prayed, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven," are waiting for the King and God's time for establishing His Kingdom for the blessing of the world.
No wonder the Apostle wrote of these, "Ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our Body"--the Body of Christ, the Church, through the power of the "First Resurrection" change. This will be our glad surrender to the Church Triumphant, when we shall hear the Master's voice saying, "Well done, good and faithful servants; enter ye into the joys of your Lord. You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things"-- participants in the Messianic Kingdom glory and its dominion of earth for the uplifting of mankind (1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 2:26.)
Union or Federation--Which?
We ask, What advantage will accrue to the Church Militant through the oncoming Federation? We reply that great advantage will come to the saintly few, not in the manner expected, but along the lines of the Divine promise that "All things shall work together for good to them that love God--to the called according to his purpose." The Church Federation, which the Scriptures distinctly show us will be effected, will include the various classes already indicated: 1. Hypocrites; 2. Moralists; 3. Indifferents; 4. Followers afar off; 5. Saints.
But in the Federation the Moralists and Higher Critics will be dominant forces. The saintly will less than ever be in evidence and appreciated. The outward and apparent success of the Federation will seem wonderful for a moment, but the results will be disastrous.
The saintly few, guided by God's Word and Holy Spirit, will awaken to the true situation and become separated from the nominal mass. Their misguided hopes as respects the bringing about of a spiritual Kingdom on earth will be thoroughly shattered, and, more than ever, they will look to the Lord as the source of help and wait for His Kingdom to come through the Redeemer's advent and the Resurrection "change."
In a word, God's saintly people need no outward Federation, even as they need no creedal fences. So far as these are concerned, the sooner all barriers between them are leaped and they come together as members of one Body, joined to the one Heavenly Head and Lord, the better. Let Churchianity produce its Federation and see its folly and failure, as outlined in our text.
But let the saints of God draw near to Him and to each other in a spiritual Union and realize to the full the meaning of the Apostle's words, "One faith; one Lord; one baptism"--one "Church of the Living God whose names are written in heaven." This condition cannot be attained through outward bonds, but can be attained only through drinking into the one Spirit obtainable through the proper understanding of the Word of God.
[OV191]
THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be
done, as it is done in Heaven."--
MANILA, P.I.--Many of us have learned to appreciate a republican form of government as the very highest type of civil administration. I trust I am not one whit behind the most patriotic of my countrymen in my appreciation of the great government of the United States, which many of us believe is the noblest that has yet risen amongst men. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that Messiah's reign will be that of a Monarchy; not only so, it will be a very exclusive and aristocratic Monarchy. Additionally, it will be most autocratic--theocratic; the will of its subjects will not be consulted in the slightest particular.
The Fifth Universal Empire.
At first, in alarm, many are ready to say, Would not that be a most dangerous condition of things? Could any royal family, however noble and generous, be entrusted with such autocratic power without fear of its being misused for the enslavement of the people, for the aggrandizement of the rulers? Have we not learned this in the history of the past six thousand years? Do we not see the necessity for curtailing and controlling the powers of kings and governors? Are we not more and more brought to realize the necessity that the people shall rule, whether in Congress or in Parliament, in Doumas or in Chambers of Deputies?
Yes, yes, I heartily accede to all this; but when I shall describe the nature of the Kingdom that is to be established, and its personnel, all fears will assuredly flee, and all will rejoice exceedingly that the Divine arrangement is what it is in respect to the theocratic Kingdom shortly to be established and to take over the government of the world.
Scripturally, it is described as the Fifth Universal Empire on earth. I remind you of the Divinely inspired dream of King Nebuchadnezzar as interpreted by the Prophet Daniel. It was of an image, majestic, grand. The head of the image was Nebuchadnezzar's own kingdom at Babylon, the first to rule over the earth. Next, represented in the breast and the arms of silver, came Medo-Persia, the second Universal Empire of earth, the conqueror of Babylon. Next, represented in the belly and thighs of the image, came Grecia, the third Universal Empire of earth, which conquered Medo-Persia. Next, represented in the legs of iron, came Rome, the Fourth Universal Empire, conqueror of Greece. There are to be no more till Messiah's Kingdom: It will be the Fifth. Meantime, we have had two attempts at a fifth monarchy, both unsuccessful. One of these attempts was by Napoleon I, the other was that of the Papacy. During this time the present divisions, which resulted from the breaking up of the Roman Empire, are represented by the feet of the image, with their ten toes.
Smiting the Image's Feet.
The prophecy declares (Daniel 2:44) that in the days of these kings, represented by the toes of the image, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom, which shall subdue all kingdoms and which shall never be overcome. It shall "be given to the people, the saints, of the Most High God, and they shall take the Kingdom and possess it forever, even forever and ever." (Daniel 7:18,27.) In the picture, God's Kingdom is symbolically represented as a great Stone, hewn from the mountain without hands-- supernaturally. It shall smite the image in its feet; and forthwith "the iron, the brass, the silver and the gold" shall become "like the chaff of a summer threshing floor," and the wind shall carry it away; but the [OV192] mountain shall increase until it shall "fill the whole earth."
Thus, in a figure, or symbol, God pictures things now shortly to come to pass. I know not how much to expect from the war between Italy and Turkey, but Rome and Constantinople stand for, represent, the two legs of the image, for be it remembered that each in turn was the Roman capital. We are certainly justified in watching with considerable interest the present war and what it may be leading to in the way of involving all the ten kingdoms represented in this prophecy.
But that is not the special point of interest in my subject; rather, I am discussing the character of Messiah's Kingdom, which is to rule the world, overthrow sin and death, and uplift humanity from ignorance, superstition, sin, weakness and death. The declaration is that Messiah shall reign until He shall have put down all insubordination, and that the last enemy to be destroyed will be death. --1 Cor. 15:25,26.
This is the Kingdom for which the Master Himself taught His followers to pray. Nothing slight or insignificant will be the outcome of that glorious, Messianic reign of a thousand years. At its very beginning Satan will be bound, with all that this signifies --the repression of evil and darkness. For a thousand years the Sun of Righteousness shall pour forth the light of truth and grace upon our poor, fallen race, until the knowledge of God's glory shall fill the whole earth, as the waters cover the great deep. (Habakkuk 2:14.) Eventually, all wilful opponents of that Kingdom shall die the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption, no recovery. But, meantime, all the willing and obedient will be rising, not only from the tomb, but also out of all the weaknesses and frailties of the present time, up, up, up to the fulness of perfection of life, although they will not live again in this perfect sense until the thousand years shall be finished. With the close of that reign of righteousness, after it shall have accomplished its work of delivering the groaning creation from the bondage of corruption, sin and death, Messiah will abdicate the Throne, as it is written, "He shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father"..."that God may be all in all."--1 Cor. 15:24,28.
No More Sighing, Crying, Dying.
What a glorious triumph that will be, when "every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth shall be heard saying, 'Praise, glory, honor, dominion and might be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, forever.'" (Revelation 5:13.) What a glorious condition will then obtain, when there shall be no more crying, no more sighing, no more dying, for all the former things of sin and death shall have passed away! Ah! He that sitteth upon the Throne said, "Behold, I make all things new!" Glad we are that our great Messiah is about to overthrow sin and evil, about to establish righteousness on a permanent and everlasting foundation, which will insure that to all eternity God's will shall be done as perfectly on this earth as it is now done in Heaven!
I ask you to consider candidly--Is there a kingdom in the world to-day that in your judgment fitly represents a Divine government amongst men? Is there a perfect government? Is there a single spot in all the earth where God's will is done as it is done in Heaven? You are conversant with history. You know the bloody record which marks its pages. You know that so-called Christian Europe has been drenched with blood more than any other part of the world. You know that the cause of wrong has triumphed as often or oftener than the cause of right. You know that to-day these kingdoms of Europe, styled kingdoms of God, are threatening one another as they have done in the past. You know that great guns, great battleships, monster torpedoes, such as the world has never known before, are being prepared by these various [OV193] nations for use, either aggressively or defensively, against one another, while they all claim to be Christ's kingdoms. Is this logical? Is this rational? Most assuredly not!
We must go to the Bible for true information on this subject. It tells us that these kingdoms are not the kingdoms of God, but "kingdoms of this world." It tells us that Satan is the Prince of this world (John 14:30; Ephesians 2:2); that he is "the god of this world; that now "worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience" --so much more numerous than the children of obedience, that he, through them, holds the world's control. But with equal clearness the Bible declares the Divine Power and mastery over Satan, and that he and his reign of sin and death are permitted of God for a limited time and for a special purpose. The testimony tells us that when the due time shall come, Messiah will take His great power and reign. Then Satan shall be bound, and all the forces of sin and darkness be restrained. Then the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in its beams, to flood the earth with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.
The Election Hath Obtained It.
Come with me and take a cursory view of God's great work thus far accomplished. For more than two thousand years God gave no clear intimation of what He intended to do for the fallen race. Then He made a statement to Abraham, so clear, so explicit, that St. Paul declares it was a statement of the Gospel in advance. God said to Abraham, I intend to bless the world--which could only mean, I intend to relieve them of the curse of death which came upon them through Adam's sin. God added to Abraham, This blessing which I will bring to all the families of the earth will come through your posterity--"In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."--Genesis 12:3, 26:4.
God's due time for bringing this blessing was still future; the blessing intended could not come until Messiah should come; but meantime God gave to the natural seed of Abraham, through Moses, the Law Covenant, which offered them eternal life and an inheritance in the Kingdom if they could keep the Law. Of course, they could not keep the Law, because it was the measure of a perfect man's ability, and alas! like the remainder of the world, the Israelites were imperfect-- sinners. Nevertheless, the offer, and their attempt to keep the Law, brought them great uplift of heart, so that when Jesus came to them, a considerable number were ready to receive Him, did receive Him, and He received them. They became sons of God, through the begetting of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost and afterwards. These were the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, begotten of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Himself being the Head, or First; the others were counted in as members of His Body.
Israel had been hoping for a share in Messiah's Kingdom, and St. Paul explains, "Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." The blinded Israelites are still cast aside, but not forever. The Divine blessing shall come to natural Israel just as soon as spiritual Israel shall be completed.--Romans 11:25-34.
The Kingdom Suffereth Violence.
What did the "election" obtain? Of what did the faithful "Israelites indeed" become heirs by accepting Jesus and by the Pentecostal blessing? We answer that they became identified with Messiah's Kingdom, and heirs or inheritors of the glorious promise made to Abraham, that in this Kingdom all the families of the earth should be blessed. But now note that there were not a sufficient number of Jews found worthy to complete the Kingdom class. The Kingdom, therefore, [OV194] could not be inaugurated then. God had foreseen this, and through the Prophet had promised that some would be gathered from the Gentiles to complete this Kingdom class. The entire work of this Gospel Age has been the calling of this "elect" class for the Kingdom. If we have rightly viewed the matter, the foreordained number will soon have been found, the election will be at an end, the accepted will be glorified as the Kingdom, and Messiah's reign of righteousness will begin.
But notice now the course of all belonging to the Kingdom class, throughout this Age. They are not reigning with Christ, but suffering with Christ. And Jesus explained this; they are indeed of the Royal Family, because begotten of the Holy Spirit; they are indeed the Kingdom class, because they are affiliated with the great King; but they have not yet entered into their glory. They will do so only by the power of the First Resurrection. Thus it is written: "We must all be changed," because "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God."
Our Lord Himself was the Pattern, the Forerunner of all these. After His consecration and His begetting of the Holy Spirit, He was tested even unto death, even the death of the Cross, before He experienced His glorious resurrection change and ascended up and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Similarly, all of His followers, after consecration, must be tested, their loyalty must be proven, before they can share with Him in "His Resurrection."
Partly for the testing of these, their development takes place in a time when Satan is the Prince of this world, and when his power is permitted to be exercised against them as it was exercised against their Lord. The message to these is: "The Kingdom suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." As our Lord suffered violence from the Prince of this world, so will His followers, for "The disciple is not above his Lord." His promise to His followers is, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."--Revelation 2:10.
"The World Knoweth Us Not."
So, then, we perceive that God's Kingdom class, the followers of Jesus, have been suffering violence, just as did their Leader, for righteousness' sake. That the persecutors had not known and done their evil work intentionally, St. Peter intimates when he says to the Jews: "I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers, for if they had known they would not have crucified the Prince of Life." Hence, in due time their blindness shall be turned away, and "they shall look upon Him Whom they pierced and mourn" (Zechariah 12:10), and God "will pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication," and forgive them and make the experience profitable to as many as shall prove willing.
Meantime, for eighteen centuries, the Scriptures declare, "The world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not." God's saintly ones have not been generally the great, the influential, either in Church or State, just as Jesus and the Apostles were not in their day. Nevertheless, the Lord knoweth them that are His. Scattered here and there, during the past eighteen centuries, He has been dealing with them, preparing them, polishing them, fitting them as jewels. And He tells us that at our Lord's second coming He will make up His jewels-- they will constitute the Kingdom class, for "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him."
I am sure you will agree with me that those whom the Lord has been so carefully selecting, instructing and polishing in the School of Christ, who have been so effectively polished with the trials and disciplines of evil, will be the very class above all others to whom the glorious dominion of earth may well be entrusted without fear. Only those thoroughly loyal to God and to principle will be in that Kingdom class.
[OV195]
THE JAPANESE COMPLIMENTED
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Choose ye this day whom ye will
serve."--Joshua 24:15.
TOKIO, JAPAN.--I am deeply impressed with the great progress the Japanese nation has made, which is manifest on every hand. But I fear that here, as in civilized lands, some of the progress is injurious. The Japanese and every other people need a faith ballast. It is necessary to strength of character and a permanent civilization. Without it, in a little while the whole world will be swept into anarchy. Indeed, I foresee that awful condition approaching rapidly--in Europe, in America and here in Japan.
Laments the Lack of Faith Ballast.
The basis of anarchy is a lack of faith ballast: and alas! our wonderful schools, with their fine equipments, are the real cause of the condition which is approaching. In Europe and America this infidelity is glossed over with the name of Higher Criticism, but here I see that the Japanese more candidly label it Agnosticism and Atheism. It appalls me to find that the progress of Japanese scholars from Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism has not been toward Christianity, but toward total unbelief. I have been handed a report from three of the Japanese schools which has made me heart-sick. Out of a total of four hundred and nine students, four professed Christianity, seventeen the religion of their fathers, sixty declared themselves Atheists, two hundred and eighty-two registered as Agnostics, and forty-six were so bewildered as to be non-committal.
Alas, even the proverbial Japanese politeness, gentleness, kindness of character and willingness to die for their Emperor cannot exist long under the influence of such a lack of faith ballast. And what the Japanese scholars of to-day believe will surely reflect in their masses shortly. And I am bound in candor to admit that a very similar condition of things prevails throughout Europe and America. The outlook is ominous indeed.
War and Rapine Not Noble Objects.
Whatever we may be, the closing of one year and the opening of another furnishes a favorable opportunity for retrospection as well as for good resolutions. The greatest power in the universe is the power of the will, and we are all learning how important a matter it is that our own wills and the wills of our fellow creatures be rightly directed. It is in line with this thought that the wise man declared that "Greater is a man that ruleth his own spirit than he who conquers a city;" and "As a man willeth in his heart, so is he."--Proverbs 16:32; 23:7.
Of old, Alexander the Great willed to be the conqueror of the world, and at a cost of wealth and streams of blood he accomplished wonders. We are gradually learning, however, that war and rapine are not sufficiently noble objects for the human ambition and will. Instead, the bright minds of the world are turning toward the conquering of the earth. Highways are cast up, rails are laid, trains are run, mountains are pierced, rivers are spanned with bridges, and the human will is using steam and electrical power in every direction in a marvelous manner. I am not emphasizing these well known facts so common to our observation, but calling attention to the will behind all these results, without which they could not be attained.
And what is thus noted in the achievements of the world reminds us that we each and all have wills, which should be rightly directed and forcefully exercised in all of our personal affairs, our lives, our ambitions, our family and social attainments. A [OV196] will-less man is a good-for-naught. How important, then, it is that all of our wills should be wisely, rightly directed, that our lives may be made as successful and useful as possible, for the glory of our Creator and for the welfare of our fellows, as well as for our own sakes! I suggest, therefore, in harmony with the above text, that we "choose this day" our course for the remainder of the year; yea, for life, and, finding that we have chosen wisely, that we bend every energy to the out-working of that resolution or will.
Japan a Flowery Kingdom.
This choice does not necessarily mean that all must turn right about face and go in the opposite direction to that in which we have been going. I am not a believer in the theory of man's total depravity. Wherever I travel I perceive marks of sin, depravity, human imperfection, weakness, but I also perceive evidences of good intentions, good endeavors, noble resolves.
Is it not because sin at the present time is profitable, advantageous, pleasurable, or seems to be one or all of these, that it is sought after, desired and given so large a control in human affairs? Is not this true because we are now under the domination of the Prince of Darkness, the Prince of this world, whom the Scriptures declare shall be bound for a thousand years and deceive the nations no more, by putting light for darkness?
When the deception shall pass away and mankind shall see clearly the joys and rewards of righteousness, will they not prefer them? And if in that glorious Epoch right-doing brings blessing and pleasure, and wrong-doing brings all the disadvantages and stripes, may we not expect that the majority of humanity will seek righteousness, seek harmony with God, and thus seek the joys and blessings of Divine favor and everlasting life?
My brief stay in Japan has given me a keen appreciation of what the Japanese have already attained as a people --entirely aside from Christianity. I perceive many things in Japan closely connected with their religious customs, which put to the blush certain conditions prevalent in Europe and America, where Christianity has been dominant for centuries. We are to acknowledge the good wherever we see it, and so now I freely acknowledge that I perceive amongst the Japanese people an esthetic taste, a gentleness of demeanor and a loyalty of heart which I fully appreciate, even though these qualities came to the Japanese, not through Christianity, but through Shintoism and Buddhism. Indeed, I must apologize for much of the rudeness and crudeness of the so-called Christian nations, of which the Japs have heard through their learned men, and of which they know something through contact with the soldiers and sailors of these lands who come to their ports.
I would have the Japanese understand, if I could, that the teachings of Christianity cover every form of courtesy, gentleness, brotherly kindness and hospitality. The very key-note of Christ's instruction to His followers is love, out of a pure heart--and that each should do unto his neighbor as he would that his neighbor should do to him. The fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit of Christ are prominently set forth in the Bible--meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, faith, hope, joy, love.
I should like the Japanese to know that while these qualities are very generally ignored amongst the representatives of Christendom, there are, nevertheless, faithful disciples of Jesus who study daily to put into practice all these qualities marked by Divine approval. The difference seems to be that these esthetic qualities or graces have become a national trait in Japan, while in Christendom, so-called, they are practiced only by a proportionately small number, the remainder rather boasting of and cultivating qualities the reverse of these, as more helpful in the battle for life and for money which is manifest everywhere among them.
[OV197]
I find myself unable to agree with the teachings of the missionaries which have reached Japan, however honest some of them may have been. Knowing that an essential feature of Shintoism is reverence for deceased ancestors, many missionaries, I fear, have done violence to the tenderest feelings and most deeply seated convictions of the Japanese when they told them that their ancestors, instead of being objects of worship, are damned of God, and have begun their experience of a torture which will last to all eternity, because they did not know, and therefore did not accept, Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior, and did not become His followers.
Disagrees with Missionaries.
I will not discuss the sincerity of these brethren in thus doing violence to the sacred and tender sentiments of the Japanese people. I will merely say that to my understanding they have misinterpreted our great Creator's Plan and the explanation thereof furnished us in our sacred Scriptures. Instead, I give the people the Bible Message, that their forefathers, whom they so deeply venerate, are, according to the Bible, asleep in death, sweetly resting from all labor, strife, vexation and turmoil, awaiting the morning light of a New Epoch.
That glorious period, when they will be awakened and come forth under more favorable conditions than the present, under a reign of righteousness and to a clear knowledge of the Truth, is to be inaugurated by the coming of Christ, the world's Messiah. He comes to establish His Kingdom and to overthrow the Prince of Darkness. He comes to break the shackles of ignorance and sin, sickness and death, and to set mankind free from these. His Kingdom will set up the glorious standard of righteousness and truth and render every assistance possible for humanity to come into harmony with the Divine will.
In that glorious Day, which, I believe, is very near at hand, everything that the Japanese and their ancestors have learned in harmony with meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, brotherly kindness, love, will be that much of an assistance in their uplift toward the full perfection of the Divine requirement of character. And similarly be it noted, those who have failed to cultivate these heart and character qualities, whether they were Japanese or nominal Christians, will have that much whereof to be ashamed and to overcome and rectify.
Does Not Wish to Be Misunderstood.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not ignoring the fundamental Christian doctrine that "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures," and "rose again for our justification." I am affirming that doctrine and carrying it to its legitimate conclusion. The Bible, the inspired authority of Christendom, clearly teaches that the sacrificial death of Jesus, the Just for the unjust, was not for a mere handful, but for the entire race. That sacrificial death took place more than four thousand years after Adam's sin, but it is to be made efficacious for Adam and all of his race--not merely for those who have heard the Message of Divine grace, nor merely for those who have lived since the sacrifice took place, but as the Bible declares, "Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man."--Hebrews 2:9.
Another Scripture distinctly shows that the Divine favor and blessing resulting from Jesus' death are not only to be a benefit to the Church, to those who now believe and walk in the footsteps of the Redeemer, but will ultimately benefit all the remainder of mankind. Thus we read, "He is a propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins (the Church's sins), and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."--1 John 2:2. All mankind, therefore, must ultimately receive a benefit, a blessing, as a result of Jesus' death. This is the method God has adopted for the fulfillment of His glorious promise of thirty-five hundred years ago to Abraham--to which promise our Creator gave His oath, [OV198] that we might have strong consolation and faith in its fulfillment. The promise is that "All the families of the earth shall be blessed," and, additionally, that the blessing shall come to them through Abraham's Seed.
Christendom's Great Mistake.
The great mistake made by Christendom has been in overlooking the fact that God's great work thus far has been only the finding of the promised Seed of Abraham, through whom the blessing will reach all peoples. Primarily, this gracious offer was made to Abraham's natural posterity, the nation of Israel, if they could keep perfectly the terms of their Law Covenant. But they were unable so to do because, like the remainder of the race, they were fallen, imperfect. Then it was that God revealed to them that He would send them a Savior, Who would deliver them from their own weakness and use them in carrying the blessing and favor to the whole world.
In due time, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be the Redeemer. Jesus left the glory which He had with the Father and humbled Himself to human nature, yea, even to death, the ignominious death of the Cross. Thus doing, He provided the Ransom-Price for the sins of the whole world, for the penalty upon the race was a death penalty, the result of one man's disobedience. Thus the death of a Just One for the unjust is sufficient to constitute a satisfaction of the Divine Law, the redemption of the race from its death sentence. Thus was secured to all an opportunity for resurrection: "As by a man came death, by a Man also comes the resurrection of the dead; for as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive, every man in his own order"--not all at once.--1 Corinthians 15:21-23.
Jesus, the Redeemer, having finished His sacrifice, was returned to heavenly glory at the right hand of Divine Majesty, far superior to angels, etc. He is now ready for His great work.
Why the delay, do you ask? The Scriptures very clearly inform us that a special, saintly class, to be gathered out of all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, is to be associated with the Redeemer in His great work of blessing the world. It is for this foreordained company to be called, chosen and found faithful, that the Messianic Kingdom delays. It is my opinion that the delay is nearly over--that very soon the last member of the glorious company will have passed beyond the veil, and that then, forthwith, the sufferings of The Christ, Head and body, being ended, Messiah's glorious Kingdom will begin.
What Israel Did Not Obtain.
St. Paul points us to the fact that the Jewish Age, up to the time of Jesus, accomplished a great moral uplift in that nation, but that the nation as a whole was not saintly, and hence as a whole, could not be the Redeemer's associates in His Messianic Kingdom. When Messiah came to His own and they received Him not, but crucified Him, they, as a nation, were rejected from Divine favor for a time. But some of them were Israelites indeed--some of them received Jesus, became His disciples, and were accepted of God by the begetting of the Holy Spirit, at and after Pentecost, to be members of the House of Sons--members of spiritual Israel.
Since then Divine Providence has been selecting the saintly ones from every nation under heaven, to complete this spiritual Israel. Thus St. Paul declares again: "If ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's Seed, and heirs according to the promise"--the promise that all the families of the earth shall be blessed through this Seed.-- Galatians 3:16-29.
So to-day and always, I urge a recognition of the power of the will, and the importance of its proper exercise in choosing the best things--the things represented in Christ and His glorious Gospel of the Love of God. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve"--God or Mammon.
[OV199]
BE CONTENT WITH YOUR WAGES
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"The soldiers likewise demanded of John the Baptist, saying, What shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages."--Luke 3:14. WE HAVE our Lord Jesus' words to the effect that John, His forerunner, was a Prophet of the very highest order: "There hath not arisen a greater Prophet than John the Baptist." John was not preaching to Christians; he was not preaching the Message that Jesus preached, namely, that "If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." He was preaching merely the demands of the Jewish Law; he was telling the Jews that their long expected Messiah was about to be presented to them, and that only the holy, faithful ones would be in readiness to receive Him, and would be accepted by Him and be blessed. Various classes asked what they should do to manifest their obedience, and to show a fruitage of repentance of sin. The words we are considering were a reply to the soldiers. It is just such advice as would be applicable to a soldier to-day.
The declaration, "Do violence to no man," did not signify that they were to prove unfaithful to the duties devolving upon them as soldiers; it did not mean that if a man were ordered to be arrested that they should let him go free. It did not mean that if he attempted to escape he might not suffer violence at their hands. They were soldiers, and a soldier is a representative of the Law, and he is under orders from his superior; and, unless the matter would be very exceptional indeed, he should obey the commands of his superior to the very letter. The responsibility is with the superior. Having enlisted, he is responsible to the terms and conditions of that contract. When his period of service shall expire, he may use his judgment and liberty about re-enlistment, but until then he is a servant of the government, and bound by its general regulations.
"Do violence to no man" must, therefore, be understood to mean, "Do not use your position of authority and power improperly, unnecessarily. If you are a soldier, be a good soldier, a kind soldier, a gentle soldier, a patient soldier, a generous soldier, an obedient soldier, 'enduring hardness as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.'" The general difficulty in our day is, not that the law requires soldiers to do violent things, but that they frequently take advantage of the situation and give greater violence than the law permits or sanctions. All who desire to walk in the way of righteousness should take heed of this wise counsel, "Do violence to no man"-- violate no man's rights or interests, nor even his feelings or his reputation.
Accuse No Man Falsely.
In olden times, most of the military duty was in the nature of police service. It could scarcely be within the province of any soldier to-day to falsely accuse any one. A policeman, however, would have such an opportunity. Either spite, or revenge, or malice, or affronted dignity, might lead [OV200] some police officer to exaggerate some fault, and thus to falsely accuse--to accuse more than would be proper, or to make an accusation out of whole cloth. All this, of course, would be contrary to the principles of righteousness, and hence contrary to the Divine will.
"Be Content With Your Wages."
We are not to understand that those who love righteousness and seek to do the Lord's will must take whatever wages are offered to them, and therewith be content. If in slavery, this might be proper enough--to be thankful and content with the best that could be done under all the circumstances, desirous, nevertheless, and patiently waiting for an improvement of conditions.
The thought of the Prophet evidently is, You have enlisted for a certain period of time; you bargained for a certain amount of wage. If later on you wish you had done otherwise, it is too late to alter the matter until your enlistment term expires. If your wages seem small, and you see others about you with no more ability earning much more, nevertheless be content with your wages, because it is what you bargained for. You have, therefore, agreed to accept it as right, and are not at liberty to denounce it, or to murmur, or to demand more. If your faithful service is appreciated, and a larger compensation than agreed upon comes to you, be thankful correspondingly. But in any event, and always be content.
Godliness With Contentment.
St. Paul declares, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." With intelligent people there can scarcely be contentment without godliness. Only the unintelligent could be content without godliness. Why? Because all persons of intelligence have hopes, aims, aspirations and ambitions. If their hearts be set upon these ambitions they can only be content while success is with them, and they are apparently attaining their desires.
As a matter of fact, comparatively few people find themselves very successful in attaining their ambitions. More or less of disappointment seems to come to nine out of every ten. It is difficult for the intelligent under such conditions to be content. The greater the intelligence the stronger the ambitions, and the more there will be of discontent in their frustration, and a feverish desire to overcome all difficulties, or to wear out life in the attempt to gain the ideal, the ambition.
It is here that godliness comes in, as a great assistance, to a comparatively small portion of humanity. The godly are those who desire to do God's will, and who desire God's will to be done in them, and in respect to all of their affairs. To these alone it is possible to have contentment, even "when all around the soul gives way," and disappointment and disaster to desires, ambition and hopes comes, and yet not thereby be crushed. These concede the Lord's will, and trust in the Divine promise that "all things will work together for their good," because they love God, and because they have been "called according to His purpose" --these can be calm and serene in the midst of all the storms of life. They have an anchorage "within the veil, whither Jesus has for them entered."
Godly Contentment a Growth.
Nor do any find that this blessed state of godly contentment can be reached in a moment. It is a result of growth in grace and in the knowledge and in the love of God. It marks a development of knowledge and faith and of obedience as children of God, to which the majority of mankind are strangers. This is, however, the ideal Christian life. It can be entered only by the straight and narrow way--by a full consecration to the service of the Redeemer--the doing of the Divine will. Gradually, day by day, this [OV201] character or disposition, which was so marked in the Lord Jesus, becomes impressed upon those who are seeking to walk in His steps, and thus, day by day, they are being made meet, fit, "for the inheritance of the saints in light."
Those who are of the world, who have not made a consecration, and who therefore are not "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ" to the Heavenly inheritance, are, nevertheless, to partake of a great blessing which God promised nearly four thousand years ago, saying to Abraham, "In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This promise guarantees that when the Church shall have reached the plane of glory, and shall have become the spiritual Seed of Abraham, all mankind will receive a blessing through the glorified Church.
The blessing will consist of an opportunity for a return to human perfection and all that was lost by Adam's disobedience, and redeemed by the obedience of Jesus; they will not only have an earthly perfection, but, additionally, everlasting life and a share in the world-wide Eden, in which there will be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying.
But, be it noted, the attitude of each individual in the present life is either that of maintaining what he has received of his parents of honor, justice, truth, righteousness and mercy, or a degradation of these qualities more or less, or an increase of them. And, according as he shall use well, or fail to use wisely the opportunities and experiences of this present life, will be his state or condition in the life to come, when Messiah shall be King, and the Church shall be with Christ on the Throne--when the promise to Abraham shall be fulfilled through them.
IN THE PRESENCE OF THE KING
IF we could always feel each little thing
We do, each hour we spend
Within the presence of the King,
What dignity 'twould lend!
If we could realize our every thought
Is known to Him, our King,
With how great carefulness would it be fraught,
And what a blessing bring!
If, when some sharp word leaves a cruel sting,
Our faith could know and feel
'Twas heard within the presence of the King,
How soon the wound would heal!
Oh, when the song of life seems hard to sing,
And darker grows the way,--
Draw nearer to the presence of the King,
And night shall turn to day!
[OV202]
WEEPING ALL NIGHT
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Weeping may endure for a night, but
joy cometh in the morning."--Psa. 30:5
NO OTHER book treats the matter of human woe and sorrow in the wise, tender, sympathetic, helpful manner of the Bible. It assures us that however cold, heartless and disappointing the world may be and our friends may be, or those from whom we may have expected better things, we have, nevertheless, a God of sympathy --a God of love. No heathen religion knows anything of such a God. With them God's attributes are merely more or less of ferocity. Their gods are to be placated and worshipped from fear of what they otherwise would do to their creatures. The God of the Bible assures us of His love, His sympathy, in all of our distresses --His interest in our affairs, and His provision for the ultimate welfare of all those who will come into the attitude of loving righteousness and hating iniquity--the only proper attitude of heart, the only one which He can approve and bless with everlasting life.
A Night of Sorrow and Death.
The Scriptures point out to us what we recognize to be the truth--that the world has been under a pall and blight and curse of death for six thousand years. Appropriately our text describes this period as a dark time of hard, blighting experiences, a night of weeping--of sorrow. In harmony with this figure it declares that "darkness covers the (civilized) earth and gross darkness the heathen."
Not alone does this condition affect those who are in alienation from God through ignorance and superstition and the power of sin, but it affects also those who have accepted the grace of God, who have turned their backs upon sin and who are seeking to walk in the narrow way, in the footsteps of Jesus. Well does the Apostle say: "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption; to wit, the redemption of our Body"--the Body of which Jesus is the Head or Chief and we are symbolical members or an under-priesthood (Romans 8:22,23.)
There is a difference, however, between the Church and the world in this groaning, as suggested by the Apostle's words. The world groans aloud without alleviation, and even its waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God is a waiting in ignorance; for, being out of touch with the Eternal One, they know not of His gracious purposes and arrangements--for these are kept secret from all except His sanctified ones. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear (reverence) Him and He will show them His Covenant" (Psalm 25:14.) Those who possess the secret of the Lord "sorrow not as others who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13.) They "groan inwardly" and wait for the glorification of themselves and all the brethren, members of the symbolical Body of Christ, by participation in the First Resurrection. The hopes of these must be realized first, before the blessing can come to the "groaning creation" in general. The latter are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God; namely, the Church in glory.
[OV203]
The Bible represents itself as being the candle of the Lord, the lamp of Divine Truth and Enlightenment. But it tells us that its light is not for the world--either now or at any time future. Its light is only for those who by faith and obedience unto consecration seek to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. They need the light. God provides it for them. These are represented by the Prophet as saying to the Lord, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (footsteps) (Psalm 119:105.) This light evidently does not shine far into the future, but enough for each onward step as it becomes due.
A Light in a Dark Place.
St. Peter amplifies the same thought. After telling us of the assurance which he himself and his associates had upon the Mount of Transfiguration when they beheld "the vision" (Matt. 17:1-9) of the Lord miraculously transformed and with Him Moses and Elijah and heard the Voice from heaven, it was forceful to their minds as teaching the coming of our Lord in glory, in due time. Nevertheless, says the Apostle, honoring the Bible above any vision, "We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise" (2 Peter 1:9), indicating that the morning is at hand and that the Sun of Righteousness will soon fulfill its mission of blessing all the families of the earth.
Why does God permit the reign of sin and death, injustice, unrighteousness, sorrow, trouble, pain, headaches, heartaches, etc.? Why does He not deal with humanity graciously, kindly, lovingly, as a Father, as He deals with the angelic sons of God? Is it just or loving on the part of our Creator to bring forth millions of His creatures under these admittedly unfavorable conditions--beset by weaknesses and sinwardness from their birth and surrounded by others similarly weak, and beset by Satan and his minions--wicked spirits? Is it just that we should thus be in an unequal fight subjected to weaknesses and dying and imperfect conditions on account of the sin of our first parents, and then, on the same account, be in danger of an eternity of torture with nine hundred and ninety-nine chances out of a thousand against us?
No, thank God, that thought of eternal torture which came down to us from the Dark Ages, and which we for a time supposed to be Biblical, we find now is quite unscriptural, when judged in the light of the Bible's own testimony. The eternal torment doctrine assuredly is not of God, not of the Bible, but, as St. Paul declares, one of the "doctrines of devils."
The inheritance of weaknesses, blemishes, sorrows, pain and trouble, to which we were born, is quite sufficient, and according to the Scriptures, these are all part of death, and all reach their culmination in death, which is the real penalty for sin prescribed by our Creator. The fact that these blemishes still continue with the race proves that their sins are not yet blotted out, and to this agree the Scriptures which point us to the oncoming glorious day of blessing a thousand years long, the Millennium, in which Divine blessing will be bestowed upon every member of Adam's race. The merit of Christ's sacrifice, the ransom-price for sinners which He laid down, will by that time be made available "for the sins of the whole world."
Awarded Special Privileges.
The merit of that sacrifice has already been applied to the Church-- "The household of faith"--since Pentecost. It has brought to this class very special privileges, though very different ones from those it will bring to the world during the Millennium. The willing and obedient of the world will then get restitution gradually (Acts 3:20), back to human perfection [OV204] and a world-wide Edenic home. The blessing on the Church is different. The promise now made to those who can and will walk by faith and not by sight is a heavenly one. They are to have a heavenly or spiritual reward and in their resurrection become partakers of the Divine nature and have no share thereafter in human nature. The conditions of the present time are severe, proportionately to the greatness and grandeur of their heavenly calling. The terms of acceptance to the Divine nature include not only faith and love, but a self-sacrificing will. These sacrifice their earthly restitution rights and privileges for the privilege of suffering with Christ, that they may also reign with him in his Millennial Kingdom.
Learning By Suffering.
The same thought is elsewhere expressed. Only those who hear His voice and obey Him as the Teacher sent of God will be successful in their endeavor to become members of the "Royal Priesthood," now being selected from the world. Only those who, during the Millennial Age, will hear and obey will there receive this great blessing of eternal salvation--eternal life under Divine favor, free from the curse. The reward to the world in the close of the Millennium and the reward to the Church in the close of this Gospel Age will each be eternal salvation; but the Church's reward will include eternal glory, heavenly glory and joint-heirship with the Redeemer Himself in His great work of administering God's blessings to the world of mankind, as Mediator of the New Covenant between God and men--the world.
It seemed wise to our Heavenly Father that Lord Jesus should learn obedience through sufferings and be tested in respect to His willingness to endure suffering for righteousness' sake. How appropriate it is that the same Father should make similar arrangements for all of the Church, whom He will receive from amongst the race of Adam to be members of the Royal Priesthood under Jesus, the High Priest of our order. We see a necessity for this, not only as respects our own testings and a thorough proof of our own heart-loyalty to the Lord, but additionally we see a wisdom on God's part in thus preparing a priesthood of the future. The term priest as recognized amongst the Jews was not merely one who offered sacrifices, although every priest was of necessity a sacrificer. The special mission of the priestly tribe amongst the other tribes was that of instructing, helping, healing, teaching. And so God is preparing a Royal Priesthood for the Millennial Age to bless, to heal, to teach, to uplift all the willing and obedient.
The royalty of the priesthood signifies that it will no longer be a sacrificing class, for all sacrificing will be at an end. It will be a glorious class, royal, of the Divine nature, and representative with our Lord Jesus of the Divine power. As priests who will have to do with judging and chastening, healing and helping humanity, how much sympathy do we suppose that these Royal Priests should have? Are they not to be on the Divine plane of glory, "members of the Body" of Messiah, the great Kingly Priest after the order of Melchizedek? And of Him has not the Apostle written that he must be a faithful and merciful High Priest, able also to sympathize with the people in their infirmities? Does he not declare that it was for this reason that our Lord was touched with a feeling for humanity's infirmities? And is it not in perfect keeping with this that all those accepted as "members of His Body" should have such experiences in this sacrificing time as would demonstrate their loyalty to the Lord and guarantee their deep sympathetic interest in the world, then committed to their care? To such will be committed the work of human restitution, uplift out of sin and death conditions--mental, moral and physical?
[OV205]
How glad we should be that our Heavenly Father's sympathy for us will provide "a morning of joy" to be ushered in, in His "due time!" Additionally He sympathizes with us to the extent that He has given us in advance a message and Revelation and explanation to comfort us, to sustain us in the way! We have already seen that this Revelation is only for those who have the eyes of faith and the ears of faith at the present time. "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear." "He that hath an ear let him hear."
The Morning of Joy.
We recognize the wisdom of God in withholding the secret of His plan from the world in general. We recognize that for the world to know the deep things of God at the present time would be injurious rather than helpful to them. It might possibly work an interference with the Divine Program. Nevertheless we are bound to sympathize with the poor, groaning creation in its blindness and ignorance. The poor world knows not why it came into being. In an animal fashion, eating, drinking, etc., it seeks to use the opportunities of present life, and, after a few short years full of trouble, it goes down into the tomb, ignorant of the purposes of its creation, and usually considerably enthralled by fear respecting the future beyond the portals of Death.
How we may rejoice in spirit as we perceive the length and breadth and heighth and depth of the Divine Program for the future and the blessings which it will bring to this "groaning creation!" How we long for the time to come when the Church shall be made ready through the sufferings of this present time for the glories of the future--of the Kingdom! No wonder the Apostle declares, "He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He (the Lord) is pure (1 John 3:3.) He is our Exemplar, our Pattern. We seek to copy Him. Although we cannot hope to be like Him in the flesh, we can be like Him in the spirit of our minds and thus be of the character-likeness which the Father will be pleased to honor with a share in the "First Resurrection." By that glorious "change" we shall be made like Him actually and see Him as He is and share His glory.
The morning of joy, the Millennial Morning, of course, cannot be ushered in until the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. Its beams of Grace and Truth will flood the earth with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God to such a degree that it will drive out, expel, all ignorance, superstition and sin, which have worked such havoc in our race.
But what is this Sun of Righteousness? Whence comes it? The Bible answers the question by telling us that it symbolically represents the Lord Himself and the elect Church of this Gospel Age. The Sun of Righteousness is a synonym for the Seed of Abraham, of whom it is written: "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." The Mystery hidden for a time from many is the fact that the Church is to share with her Lord in every feature of His glorious work, not only in suffering, but also in reigning. Thus we have St. Paul's assurance that the overcomers will be members of the Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:29.) And we have our Lord's own words that this faithful class will be represented in the great Sun of Righteousness, the great Messiah, the great Prophet, Priest, King and Mediator between God and men (Matthew 13:43.)
"What Manner of Persons."
St. Peter, in viewing the prospects of the Church, inquires as to "what manner of persons we ought to be in all manner of holy living and godliness." He refers to us, who know that the present order of things is the reign of sin and death from which our Lord died to deliver us. What manner of persons ought we to be who have heard [OV206] the Lord's invitation to joint-heirship in His Kingdom, and who know that we are now on trial to determine by our voluntary course our worthiness or unworthiness of that glorious position to which we have been called by God's favor! How paltry, how insignificant, do all the affairs of the world appear in comparison to this great prize set before us in the Gospel!
And what should be our attitude towards the world, seeing from this inside standpoint of Divine Revelation the real condition of the world and God's sympathy for it? Its ignorance should make us very sympathetic, and very much disposed to lend a helping hand of relief in every possible manner. We should be ever ready to remove the scales of blindness from the mental vision of all who give indication of a desire for God--any who seem to be "feeling after God, if haply they might find Him" (Acts 17:27.) Only such will be ready for the Kingdom, fit for the Royal Priesthood, every member of which must be "touched with a feeling" for earth's infirmities, full of sympathy and words of encouragement.
SOMETIME WE'LL UNDERSTAND
PERHAPS 'twill be in coming years,
It may be in the better land,
We'll read the meaning of our tears,
And thus, sometime, we'll understand.
We'll catch the broken threads again,
And finish what we here began;
Heav'n will the mysteries explain,
And then, ah! then, we'll understand.
We'll know why clouds instead of sun
Were over many a cherished plan;
Why song hath ceased when scarce begun.
Ah, yes! sometime, we'll understand.
Why what we longed for most of all,
Eludes so oft our eager hand;
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall--
Some day, sometime, we'll understand.
God knows the way, He holds the key,
He guides us with unerring hand;
Sometime with tearless eyes we'll see;
Yes, there, beyond, we'll understand.
Then trust in God, thro' all thy days,
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand;
Tho' dark thy way, still sing and praise;
Sometime, sometime, we'll understand.
[OV207]
EVERY IDLE WORD
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Every idle word that men shall
speak, they shall give an account
thereof in the day of judgment; for by
thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
AT SOME time in the near future we must consider for the benefit of fellow-Christians what the Bible has to say respecting the Day of Judgment. For the present we suffice ourselves with the general explanation that this term Day of Judgment has been seriously misconstrued by theologians and by the public. It has been used out of harmony with the Scriptural usage. It has been used out of harmony with reasonable, logical deductions. The term Day of Judgment is generally understood to mean Day of Sentence or Day of Doom. In fact, Doomsday is frequently used as a synonym without the slightest warrant. The term Day of Judgment signifies the Day of trial or testing; as in our text we read that men shall give an account in the Day of Judgment for every idle word. The proper thought on the subject of judgment from the Bible standpoint is this: God created our first parents innocent, perfect, and placed them on trial. Their Day of Judgment was in Eden. How long it would have lasted had they remained faithful to God we are not informed, but as soon as they had disobeyed the Divine Command, their day of trial or judgment was ended, and the sentence, "Dying thou shalt die," began to be inflicted. The judgment or trial of Adam was over, and since all of his posterity share his imperfections and are equally unworthy of life on that account, therefore the sentence of sin, "Dying thou shalt die," rests upon every member of the race, just as though each individual had been on trial in Eden and had lost in the trial with Father Adam. This matter St. Paul clearly enunciates, saying, "By one man's disobedience, sin entered into the world and death as the result of sin. Thus death passed upon all men, because all are sinners" (Romans 5:12.)
This being true, how comes it that there is any mention made in the Scriptures of another judgment day? If all mankind already are judged unworthy of eternal life and worthy of death everlasting, why should there be any further judgment? The Bible answer to the question is that there would have been no reference to a future judgment day had it not been that God had provided a Redeemer, Christ Jesus, by whose merit the first penalty against our race through Adam will eventually be abrogated, set aside. In consequence of the setting aside of the first sentence of death a second trial or judgment will be opened to every member of the race. The first trial or judgment was of one man (Adam) for all of his race. A second trial or judgment, secured by the Redeemer, will treat Adam and all of his race individually; granting them each an individual or personal trial, hence unlike the first trial in Eden, which was of one man and for the race. This second trial has not yet been provided for our race, except in the sense that it has been prepared for and promised--"God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness." That day will be the Millennial day--a thousand years in length. It will be the world's trial [OV208] day or time of individual testing.
Whoever of the world comes to a knowledge of the fact that God has provided such a future trial, such a future opportunity of obtaining eternal life, is on notice at once that every intelligent act of his in the present life will have a bearing upon his prospect for eternal life in the future. If now he uses wisely the opportunities of the present life he may upbuild for himself a measure of character, self-control, etc., which will prepare him for a more honorable place during the Millennial Kingdom and make his progress there the more rapid and the more easy. Or, on the contrary, by degrading himself in the present life he may undermine his character, and, during the Millennial Day of Judgment (trial) find himself so much lower in the human scale and have so much further to advance out of sin and death conditions into the condition of perfection and everlasting life.
The Church has her judgment day in the present life--during this Gospel Age. All consecrated believers, begotten of the Holy Spirit, are now on trial for everlasting life or for everlasting death as "new creatures in Christ Jesus." If such do not comply with the conditions of their consecration, but draw back to sin, their trial will be in one sense useless and the sentence of utter destruction will rest upon them--"the Second Death."
Idle Words--Pernicious Words.
The context shows that our Lord in our text addressed, not his disciples, but the worldly, the Pharisees. Doubtless the same principle applies to the Church. Every idle or pernicious word of ours has its weight, has its influence with ourselves and with others. Those who are rightly informed respecting the Lord's will in such matters, the Lord's consecrated people, have a great responsibility--a responsibility of what effect their words and influence have upon others. Our words, whether written or spoken, exercise an influence upon the minds and thoughts of others. Frequently they go from one to another, and thus, if pernicious, evil is spread far and near and the word once uttered cannot be recalled. Some one has wisely said that Error can get around the world while Truth is getting its boots on. Oh, the power of a slanderous word! Oh, the power of an insinuation! Yea, even of a shrug of the shoulder! Who does not know it? Who is unaware of the fact that this is the practice of the world daily; and alas, the practice also of many of God's people--professing Christians! The bitter word of sarcasm or insinuation is shot out often unthinkingly, but the terrible poison goes from heart to heart and fresh roots of bitterness are scattered abroad, which a lifetime of holy living cannot fully counteract.
On the contrary, what a power the tongue has for good, using the word tongue here in its broad sense, representing not only words spoken, but the words written and printed. As an illustration: What speaker or writer has ever done more to help poor humanity than the Prophet David in the inspired Psalms which he wrote? Truly, as Solomon has said, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver" (Proverbs 25:11.) As for the Church, the Lord has indeed agreed that He will not judge the Church according to their words and their deeds entirely, but according to their spirit, their intention, their will, their energy, their zeal for Him and His Truth. Nevertheless, He assures the Church that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, and that they may thus judge or test themselves. If their hearts are right--full of love for God, for the brethren, for mankind, for their enemies, they will speak accordingly, manifesting their love and kindness in words as well as in deeds. The good heart out of its good treasure will shower blessings-- fruits and flowers of refreshment and kindness, while the evil heart will send forth bitter words, poisoned arrows, injurious to all with whom they come in contact.
[OV209]
Whoever, therefore, finds that he is continually stirring up strife and wounding his friends should promptly make an examination of his heart to ascertain the trouble there. He should not be content to say, "I meant no harm." The heart that is not full of goodness, kindness, generosity, love, will likely not control the tongue properly. We must reach the place where not only we do not will to do harm to our neighbors, but where we sincerely wish to do them good. Then that good heart, out of its treasure of goodness, will speak words of kindness, of love.
Men Shall Give an Account.
But now, considering the words of our text as applicable to the Millennium, how will the world render its account in the future respecting the words of the present life? Not surely in line with the teachings of the Dark Ages that, during a twenty-four hour day, the whole world could be ranged in line and each individual remember each pernicious word and evil act and give an account of the same to the great Judge? Quite different will the reality be. The Judgment Day will be the thousand year period of the Millennium and the account of every evil act, of every sinful deed, and of every pernicious word will be recorded in the individual's own character, just as a towel bears the mark of every unclean wash dried upon it. In other words, the wrong-doer not only injures others, but specially injures and marks himself by the wrong he has practiced in evil speaking and evildoing, and the more deeply has he marked his character accordingly. It is in line with this that the Scriptures assure us that in the resurrection time many will come forth to shame and lasting contempt. It is a time in which characters will be shown up. How terribly ashamed some will be of their showing! Some who now appear to be honorable indeed, some who now rank fairly high amongst men, will then be seen in truer colors. Their shame and the contempt in which they will be held by mankind in general will be a part of their punishment for their wrong course. The shame will last until gradually they will be able to demonstrate a more noble character. Their contempt will continue until, under the blessed, uplifting influences of the Millennial Kingdom, they will have attained the way of the Lord more perfectly.
We are not to think that this signifies that every man will be justified from the Adamic death condemnation by any words that he could utter. Nor are we to think of the expression, "By thy words thou shalt be condemned," that any man could come under a second condemnation until first freed (through Christ) from the condemnation of original sin. Nothing but the merit of Christ's sacrifice can justify any. Nothing but the blood of Christ can justify those who come to God by faith, in this Age, or those who will assure him of their loyalty for righteousness by works, in the next Age. We are not to understand our Lord as here contradicting the general testimony of the Scriptures.
By Thy Words Justified.
The lesson is in harmony with the Scriptural declaration, "Blessed is the man who is not condemned by that which he alloweth." That is to say, the ungenerous, the unkind, are very apt to blame others strongly for misdemeanors of which they themselves are guilty. The man whose words respecting others do not condemn himself is to be congratulated as a happy man indeed. The person whose criticism of others is so kindly, so generous, so merciful as to not involve a condemnation of his own course is certainly an exceptional man or woman. We call to remembrance our Lord's words, "With whatsoever measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again," and, interpreting our text in harmony with this, if our words are generous and kind, loving and benevolent we shall receive similarly kind treatment of the Lord. If our language [OV210] respecting others be harsh, cynical, critical, unkind, we may expect reproofs from the Lord. Why? Because all mankind are by nature fallen, imperfect, depraved; and the person who sees the faults of others and fails to see his own, needs the correcting chastisements of the Lord to show him his true condition reflected in his course of conduct and language toward and respecting others: he indicates that he himself needs to be taught some very important lessons without which he will not be prepared to make progress toward the Divine standards of character.
On the contrary, the person who is kind, gentle, forgiving, forbearing, sympathetic, disposed to make allowances for others shows that he has learned an important lesson already and that, to a considerable extent, his heart is right. Whatever there is wrong with such a generous soul is unintentionally wrong, a wrong which is intrenched in his flesh, but with which his heart is not in accord. By his kindly words respecting others he marks himself, indicates his character as of the kind which God can approve; as one of the class who at least love their neighbor as themselves, and thus imply also that they love God, because as the Apostle points out, "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" Contrariwise, he who loves his neighbor speaks generously of him, is merciful toward him, and compassionate, undoubtedly would greatly respect and love the Divine character in its perfection of Justice, Wisdom and Love.
Blessed are the Merciful.
This brings us to another Scripture of similar tenor: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." It is true that God gave to natural Israel a code of laws which defined the course of life for them saying, Thou shalt not do this and that. Yet that Law was intended in great measure to show to Israel and to the world the impossibility of an imperfect man or woman keeping perfectly the Divine requirements. When the Lord would state His Law from the other standpoint --positively and not negatively, He sums the matter up in a few words, Thou shalt love the Lord supremely and thy neighbor as thyself. He who is merciful is in the condition to be blessed of the Lord, because he more than others approximates the standard of the Divine Law--Love; for mercy is the expression of love.
We see, then, that the Divine promise that he who is merciful to his neighbor will receive the more mercy from the Lord is not a mere ipse dixit, nor a mere rewarding of such a proper course. Rather it is in harmony with the principles and essence of the Divine government, because the more generous and loving the heart, the nearer to the perfect condition.
If this principle could be rightly seen by Christian people it would work an almost instantaneous revolution in the hearts and conduct of all who desire Divine approval and favor. Instead of burning one another at the stake; instead of putting on thumb screws; instead of condemning one another to eternal torment, Christians would be seeking to bless one another, to think and feel kindly respecting one another and disposed to pray God's blessing upon those who despitefully use them and persecute them. Instead of slander and misrepresentation and envious insinuations, the spirit of love and kindness and mercy and godlikeness would more and more prevail amongst those who have named the name of Christ and have professedly enlisted under His banner and covenanted to walk in His footsteps.
Nor would the blessing stop with the Church. The world, seeing such an example of love and kindness, would be ready to take knowledge of the followers of Jesus, as they did in the days of the Apostles, saying, "Behold, how these Christians love one another!" Then our Lord's words would have a practical illustration, "A new Commandment I give unto you, [OV211] that ye love one another, as I have loved you" to the extent of laying down our lives for each other. As the Apostle declares, "We ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren."
It has seemed at times as though some of those who profess relationship to Christ as members of His Church do even more of petty evil-speaking and slandering and busy-bodying than do the worldly who make no profession whatever. According to the standards set forth in our text the worldly, if they have more of the quality of mercy in their hearts will evidently be more pleasing to God than those who have made much profession and neglected the Master's commands and failed to cultivate his spirit of love and mercy, in word and deed.
Let us all remember our text and apply it. "By thy words shalt thou be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be condemned." As we think of the fact that these sermons reach the eyes of about seven millions of readers weekly, we feel the weight of our responsibility. It is our desire that they be just such as the Lord can approve, and such as will be helpful to all.
IF I COULD KNOW
IF I could only surely know
That all these things that tire me so
Were noticed by my Lord--
The pang that cuts me like a knife,
The noise, the weariness, the strife,
And all the nameless ills of life--
What peace it would afford!
I wonder if He really shares
In all these little human cares,
This mighty King of kings!--
If He who guides through boundless space
Each radiant planet in its place,
Can have the condescending grace
To mind these petty things.
It seems to me, if sure of this,
Blent with each ill would come such bliss
That I might covet pain,
And deem whatever brought to me
The blessed thought of Deity,
And sense of Christ's sweet sympathy,
Not loss, but richest gain.
Dear Lord, my heart shall no more doubt
That Thou dost compass me about
With sympathy Divine.
The Love for me once crucified
Is not the love to leave my side,
But waiteth ever to divide
Each smallest care of mine.
[OV212]
REFRAIN THY VOICE FROM WEEPING
AND THINE EYES FROM TEARS
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor of
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"The Lord, through the Prophet Jeremiah, sends a message of consolation for the heart of every bereaved parent trusting in him. We read, 'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they were not. Thus saith the Lord, 'Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.'"--Jer. 31:15-17. THE LORD through the Prophet Jeremiah sends a message of consolation for the heart of every bereaved parent trusting in him. We read: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they were not. Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy."-- Jeremiah 31:15-17.
Five items in our text fasten our attention:
First: Sorrow for the dead, which is universal; as the Apostle declares, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together."
Second: The nature of the comfort described--the hope of a resurrection, the hope of the recovery of the dead-- "They shall come again," they shall be restored to life.
Third: That in death our dear ones are in "the land of the enemy;" in harmony with the Apostle's declaration, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."--1 Cor. 15:26.
Fourth: That the labors of the parents in endeavoring properly to rear their children are not lost, "Thy work shall be rewarded."
Fifth: Last but not least in importance in this text is the declaration that this is the Word of the Lord, which cannot be broken--the Word which is sure of fulfillment, however different it may be from the word of man on this subject.
Tears Not Weakness--"Jesus Wept."
Sorrow for the dead is not a sign of weakness, but rather the reverse-- a sign of love and sympathy, of something more than selfishness. If any demonstration of this thought were necessary it is furnished us in the statement of the shortest verse in the Bible--"Jesus wept." Our Lord's tears were shed on a funeral occasion, too; Lazarus, his friend, the brother of Martha and Mary, was dead. Our Lord entered fully into the spirit of the occasion, with a deeper appreciation of the awful meaning of the word death than could possibly be entertained by those about him. He appreciated more than any of the fallen, dying race the great blessing and privilege of living, and what a terrible affliction was death--destruction, annihilation.
On the other hand, however, he understood more clearly than any of his hearers the gracious plan of God for the rescue of the race from annihilation. He realized that for this purpose he had come into the world, [OV213] that he might give his life as the ransom price for Father Adam, and thus incidentally for every member of the Adamic race involved in death through the first transgression in Eden. The Master realized from the standpoint of faith in the Father's plan, and his confident intention to carry out his own part in that plan and to lay down his life as our redemption price, that thus resurrection blessings would come to every member of the race.
"Not Dead, but Sleeping."
Let us note carefully the nature of the consolation which our Lord tendered to the sorrowing ones about him on this occasion. Let us be assured that "He who spake as never man spake" gave the soundest and best comfort. The consolation which he gave was that "Lazarus is not dead, but sleepeth." He neither spake of him nor thought of him as being dead in the sense of annihilation, because he had full confidence in the divine plan of redemption and in the resurrection blessings resulting. Hence the interim of death he spoke of as sleep--quiet, restful, waiting sleep.
What a wonderful figure is this, so frequently used throughout the Scriptures by all those who trusted in the divine plan of a resurrection morning. In the Old Testament Scriptures we read frequently of sleep. Abraham slept with his fathers, so did Isaac, so did Jacob, so did all the Prophets, so did all Israel.
In the New Testament it is the same. Not only did our Lord speak of Lazarus sleeping, but the Apostles frequently used this same figure of sleep to represent their hope in a resurrection --that the dear ones who went down into death were not annihilated, but, as our text declares, "Will come again from the land of the enemy"--will awaken in the resurrection morning.
Thus, too, of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, it is written that though stoned to death, he "fell asleep," sweetly, restfully, trusting in Jesus and the great power which he ultimately would exercise to call forth from the power of death all redeemed by the precious blood. This, too, we remember, was the comfort the Apostle set before the early Church, saying, "Comfort one another with these words"--"They that sleep in Jesus shall God bring from the dead by him."--1 Thess. 4:14-18. Referring to the matter on one occasion, the Apostle remarked, "We shall not all sleep, but we must all be changed." He referred to those who would be living at the second coming of Christ, whose resurrection "change" will not be preceded by a period of unconsciousness in death.
Let us go back to Jesus and the sorrowing sisters at Bethany, and hearken to the words of comfort extended to the bereaved on that occasion. We cannot improve upon the great Teacher and the lessons which he presented. Let us hearken to his conversation with Martha. He says: "Thy brother shall live again." He does not say thy brother is living now. He did not say, as some erroneously teach to-day, thy brother is more alive in death than he was before he died. No! No! The Lord would not thus mock the common sense and reason of his hearers, nor could he thus violate the truth and declare the dead not dead.
Hearken! The Lord admits that a calamity has befallen the household. He says not a word about his friend Lazarus having gone to Heaven--not an intimation of the sort. On the contrary, he has tears of sympathy, and holds out as the strongest and only truthful solution of the sorrow, the hope of a resurrection--"Thy brother shall live again!" The hope of all the dead centers in me. My death will effect the cancellation of the original Adamic condemnation, and I shall have the right then in harmony with the Father's plan to call forth all the dead from the great prison-house of death, from the tomb. "Marvel not at this, for the hour is [OV214] coming in which all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth."-- John 5:23.
The Resurrection Morning.
At the close of his conversation with Martha, explaining that her hope must center in a resurrection of the dead and that he was the center of that resurrection hope, our Lord asked for the tomb, intent upon giving an illustration of the power which by and by in the resurrection morning will be exercised toward the whole world of mankind. Standing at the door of the tomb, our Lord cried in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" and the dead came forth--he had been dead, he was quickened by our Lord's power and authority.
This, like other miracles performed by our dear Redeemer at his first advent, we are particularly told, was a fore-manifestation of his coming glory and power, an advance exhibit of what he will do at his second advent, only that the work at the second advent will be universal, higher, deeper, broader every way, "All the blind eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped;" all that are in their graves shall come forth, not merely to relapse again into blindness and death, but a permanent recovery --not only recovery from the loss of natural sight and hearing, but the eyes and ears of their understanding will be opened also; not merely aroused from a sleep of death to a few years more under present conditions, but aroused to the intent that by obedience of the Divine arrangement of the Millennial Age all the awakened ones may attain to all the glorious perfections, mental, moral and physical, lost by Adam's disobedience.
"Times of Refreshing Shall Come."
Glorious hope of a glorious time. What wonder that the Apostle speaks of it as "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord when He shall send Jesus Christ. What wonder that he speaks of those years of the Millennial Age as "times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began."--Acts 3:19-21.
Lazarus died again, Jairus' daughter died again, the son of the widow of Nain died again. Their awakening from the tomb was merely a temporary matter, merely an illustration of the Lord's power; as it is written, "These things did Jesus and manifested forth his glory." These were merely foregleams of the coming power and glory and blessed work of the gracious Prophet, Priest and King whom God had appointed not only to redeem the world, but in due time to grant to all the opportunities secured by that redemption sacrifice.
Death, "The Land of the Enemy."
We cannot here go into details, but we doubt not that a majority of you have our full thought on this subject as presented in the "Studies in the Scriptures," in which we endeavor to show amongst other things that the great blessing which will ultimately be for the world of mankind, as well as for the Church, centers in the coming of our Lord and Master, our Redeemer and King, and that the great blessings centering in him are not merely temporary, but designed of God to be everlasting and eternal to those who accept Divine favors in the right spirit, reverently, thankfully, obediently.
Why should death be called "The land of the enemy?" Why should it be written, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death?" All because, disguise the facts as we may, death is an enemy. The suggestion that it is a friend comes not from the Word of God, but from heathen philosophies. The suggestion that it is unreal comes not from the Scriptures, but from heathendom. The suggestion that the dead are more alive than they were before they died is totally out of harmony with the Scriptural declaration--"The dead know not anything; [OV215] their sons come to honor and they know it not, and to dishonor and they perceive it not of them," because "there is neither wisdom nor knowledge nor device in the grave whither thou goest." (Job. 14:21; Eccl. 9:10.) The suggestion that we deceive ourselves and imagine without reason that the moment of death is the moment of greater life, is of the Adversary, who contradicted the Lord's statement in Eden to our first parents, and when the Lord had declared, "Ye shall surely die" for your sin, declared in contradiction, "Ye shall not surely die."--Gen. 3:2-4.
The Adversary has kept up this false teaching for 6,000 years, and at last not only heathendom is deceived by his misrepresentation of facts, but very, very many of Christendom likewise trust to the word of Satan, "Ye shall not surely die," and believe that the dead are not dead, and reject the testimony of God's Word that "the wages of sin is death," that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," that "death has passed upon all men because all are sinners," and that the hope of the Church as well as the hope for the world lies in the fact that Christ died for our sins and redeemed us from the death sentence, and in the Father's due time is to effect a resurrection of the dead.
The Key of Death's Prison.
Let us comfort our hearts with the true comfort, the substantial comfort of the Word of God--there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth. The thousands of millions who have gone down into the great prison-house of death shall be released, because the Great Redeemer has the key, the power, the authority, to bid the prisoners to come forth, even as the Scriptures declare.
What a glorious resurrection morning that will be! What a glorious reunion! We understand the Scriptural teaching to be that the awakening processes will continue throughout a considerable portion of the Millennial Age, the thousand-year day of resurrection and restitution. First will come the resurrection of the Church, the "Bride," the "Lamb's Wife," the "Body of Christ." These, as the Scriptures declare, will constitute the First Resurrection--not only first in order of time, but first in the sense of chief. In that company will be none except the saints; as it is written, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection; on such the Second Death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." (Rev. 20:6.) Nevertheless, that will be but a little flock, as the Scriptures declare, including "not many wise, not many great, not many learned, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the Kingdom."-- 1 Cor. 1:26,27; Jas. 2:5.
Not long after the First Resurrection (the glorification of the Church), will come the resurrection of the Ancient Worthies--the overcomers of olden times prior to the Gospel Age. The assurance is that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the holy prophets --yes, all who were approved to God by their faith and their efforts to obedience --will come forth from the tomb to human conditions, glorious, grand, earthly illustrations of the heavenly Creator, to constitute the earthly representatives of the Kingdom, the instructors of mankind.
The instruction of the world will forthwith proceed. We are assured that "the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep"--to such an extent that "They shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." We cannot stop to describe that glorious time and the grand opportunities it will give to every creature to know the Lord, to obey Him, to attain to resurrection [OV216] in its full significance--a raising up to mental, moral and physical perfection.
After the Kingdom of God shall have been fully established in the earth, and Satan shall have been bound, after the darkness shall have rolled away and the true light shall have lightened every creature, the time will come for the awakening of all the families of the earth--not all at once, but gradually, "they shall come again from the land of the enemy." The Scriptures do not go into details on this subject, they leave much to faith; but give us a firm foundation for that faith, nevertheless, in the positive promise of the Lord's Word.
The Last First, the First Last.
To our understanding those who have fallen asleep last, will be among the first to be called back from the land of the enemy, to be awakened, and thus the work of awakening the sleeping ones will progress backward, as we might express it; the living ones will prepare for their brothers and sisters and parents, and they in turn for their brothers and sisters and parents, and so on all the way back, until finally Father Adam and Mother Eve shall come forth to see the world filled with their progeny, in accord with the Lord's original commission that they multiply and fill the earth.
They will behold with astonishment the showers of blessing that have come upon the race from the Heavenly Father and through the Heavenly Savior; they will see what havoc was wrought by their disobedience, but that God in His wisdom and power was both able and willing to overrule the matter and to bring order out of confusion and resurrection out of death. They and all will realize something of the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the Love of God. The grand plan of salvation shall loom up before them; they will see how Abel, their son, who suffered for righteousness, was a type and picture of the great Son of God who suffered for righteousness and for our deliverance, and they will see how his blood speaks peace for all for whom it is shed, speaks forgiveness and renewed harmony with God.
The Tragedy of Sin and Death.
They will learn, too, of the terrible degradation which came upon their race subsequently to their death; they will read with appalled hearts and bated breath of the terrible famines and pestilences which came upon the race as a part of the original sentence or death curse; they will learn about the mental aberrations which afflicted the world, so that men thought they were doing God service in persecuting one another because of religious differences of opinion, and how others, more or less consumed with selfishness, land hunger, etc., warred and fought and devised engines of destruction against each other, and killed one another by the thousands in battle. They will wonder at the patience of God in so long permitting the evil.
"Thy Work Shall Be Rewarded."
Then truly they will see what God has wrought: First, his justice, which provided the great redemption price and would not otherwise clear the guilty. Second, his love, manifested in the same connection in the giving of his Son. Third, they will come to understand how that during this Gospel Age God has been selecting his Church to be the Bride of Christ and joint-heir with him in the Kingdom. Fourth, they will perceive that when this election was complete and the members of the glorified company had all been tried and polished and tested and glorified, then the blessing of the world through the glorified Christ, Head and Body, came upon all mankind in the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began.-- Acts 3:20.
Finally, consider the Lord's Word to us all as a race, and particularly his [OV217] word to parents, "Thy work shall be rewarded." What a blessing and comfort! What a consolation and encouragement are in these words to those parents who, seeking to train up their children in the way they should go, are sadly wounded and discouraged when the arrow of death smites down the dear ones they had so loved and cherished. They are disposed at first to say, Ah, my love, my counsel, my motherly care, my fatherly provision, were wasted. But not so, saith the Lord; thy works shall be rewarded.
You shall see the fruit of your labor in the future; we shall know as we are known by and by. Our dear ones will be with us, and to whatever extent time and effort will have been expended upon them to mold and fashion them along the lines of righteousness and truth, uprightness and godliness, these surely have not been spent in vain. The child shall come forth that much more advanced in its mental and moral development; to that much more easy attainment of the grand heights which the Lord will then open up before it.
How Rewarded?
On the other hand, the parent who has been careless of his children, neglectful of his privileges and obligations as a parent, will undoubtedly have his negligence rewarded in the future as he shall see what he might have done for his children but did not.
And more than this. By a Divine law of reaction, every parent who is faithful in the discharge of his parental duties shall have his work rewarded in himself, and likewise every parent neglectful of his duties shall have his work rewarded in himself. For who does not realize that there is no greater privilege or opportunity for self-development than comes to the parent in his endeavor to train up his children in the way they should go, in the reverence and admonition of the Lord.
Character Building is Included.
Undoubtedly it is true, too, that every effort to do good unto others, especially to your own children, has its compensating blessings upon your own hearts. May this blessing deepen as the years go by.
In conclusion, I say to you, not only for to-day, but for the future days, "Comfort one another with these words" of our Lord to the effect that your little ones shall come again from "the land of the enemy," and that their return shall be even much more blessed, under much more favorable conditions than at present. Then, the great King reigning, all evil will be in subjection, all evil doers will be under restraint, all the influences of righteousness will be let loose, and the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the great deep. Blessed prospects are those before us, and to him who loved us and bought us, and to the Heavenly Father, who designed the great plan, we give everlasting thanks and praises, and show this by our daily lives!
[OV218]
PASTOR RUSSELL NOT A "SOCIALIST"
His Observations on Condition in the Orient
Gained on his Recent "Round the World Trip"
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
ON BEING asked recently for an interview on Socialism, by the representative of a Socialist paper, Dr. Russell, the well known pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle, New York, replied:
"But I am not a Socialist; indeed, I am an opponent of Socialism as being impractical at the present time. I am not even a 'Christian Socialist.' I hold that Jesus and His Apostles did not teach Socialism or social equality. They taught, 'Render honor to whom honor is due;' 'Love the brethren, honor the king;' 'Servants, obey your masters.'
"Even the partial attempt at Communism or Socialism in the early Church, when they 'had all things common,' was a mistake. It was not authorized by the teachings of Jesus. It was an expression of the mutual love of the brethren. It was permitted, to illustrate the ideal condition of the future, for which even the saintly are not now prepared.
"I hold that Messiah's Kingdom must first be established and in control before Socialism will be a blessing or a possibility. Selfishness is so deeply entrenched in the human heart that Socialism in full can be only a theory, an unattainable ideal in the present time. Of course, I do not include combinations of Individualism and Socialism along the lines of railways, telephones, gas and electric supply, schools, etc. In view of these divergences, you surely have come to the wrong man for an interview," said Pastor Russell.
"You are quite wrong, Pastor," replied the newspaperman. "We do know your position quite well, but while we do not take your view of matters, we do recognize you as a man of great honesty and fearlessness. Your reputation in these respects is world-wide. Socialism not only respects the motto, 'Live and let live,' but it has another, 'Think and let think.' Socialism is quite strong enough to-day to be fearless. Besides, you do believe in Socialism--that Messiah's Kingdom will establish later what we now advocate.
"My journal desires your views on social conditions as you observed them on your recent world tour. Your Christian character, your freedom from sectarian bondage, your alertness to all that is transpiring in this, our wonderful day, as well as your moral courage, make your conclusions valuable to us and to all thinkers. Besides, many of our comrades have your books and possibly know more of your views than you might surmise--even if we do not agree with your views regarding Socialism."
"I thank you for your compliment," answered the pastor. "It seems to me that no one should be other than honest --especially a minister of the Gospel of Christ. What items would most interest your readers?"
"We would like to have some word on conditions in India, China, Japan and the Philippine Islands. We know much regarding conditions at home and in Europe, but will not object if you include interesting items of your observations in Christendom also." [OV219] India Seething and Restless.
"Our party spent nearly a month in India," began Pastor Russell. "We had excellent opportunities for getting in touch with its peoples. They are mostly inoffensive, but besotted with superstition. They are just awakening to realize their lack of education. A fresh appeal for education for the masses has been made to the government this very year. They see that the wealth is in the hands of the whites, and all offices and positions of trust. They charge that they are being exploited to make the British wealthy. Secretly they are angry. If they could get munitions of war, India would be aflame with war against their white rulers. But no one is permitted to have arms of any sort except upon a specially issued license. And, of course, licenses are rarely granted, except to the whites.
"I could see no hope for their getting free from the British even if they could do better for themselves, which I doubt. I addressed whites and natives some sixteen times, exhorting all to seek God in His righteousness and to patiently wait for Messiah's Kingdom, which God promises will right all the injustices of earth. In Madras I learned of a recent incident which implies that the natives are bitter and premeditating vengeance on the whites: a native woman treated a white woman rudely in a street car. The white woman reproved the native, and got the reply: 'We will spit into your white faces before long.'
"China is a most interesting country. Its people are quite intelligent in a civilization of their own, very different from ours. Finally, they are awake to the fact that this is to their disadvantage. The revolution now in progress is not merely a political one --it embraces everything social and religious as well. Noted in the past for their docility, which allowed the Manchus to rule them for centuries (as the British are now ruling India) they are now ablaze with the revolutionary spirit.
"It is to be hoped that the Chinese will be allowed to reorganize their own government. It is to be feared that they will get five foreign masters instead of the one (Manchus) and less sympathetic.
"China has a trades unionism all her own. No other land under the sun is so completely ruled along these lines, though the workmen of the United States are following closely of late. In China every trade has its guild, with iron-clad rules, to violate which often means death. Even the pirates are thus combined and ruled. If civil war in China ever gets under way, these guilds will make matters terrible indeed. 'Every man's hand will be against his neighbor,' just as the Bible describes.
Uncle Sam as a Civilizer.
"The Filipinos for centuries, degraded with superstitions and ignorance, are now awake. Nowhere has the white man and his civilization done more for his dark-skinned brother than in the Philippines. In the short time since the American occupation following the Spanish war, that people has seen the great light of civilization and is approaching it with rapid strides.
"One thousand American school teachers originally sent there are now supplemented by six thousand native teachers. The Filipinos are not yet fit for full self-government: no more so than a bright boy of twelve years would be fit. However, an American has just cause to feel proud of the noble work of a 'big brother' that has been done by our government--along strictly secular lines, without prejudice to any religion.
"Yet the Filipinos are not happy, contented, thankful! Judging our government by others, measuring others by themselves, they selfishly fear for the future. Doubtless, did the opportunity offer, they would be ready to murder their educators and benefactors, for fear of the future, which they distrust. [OV220] The Practical Japanese.
"As a race, the Japanese seem inferior to the Chinese. Yet in some important respects they are superior. They are more practical! They have great common sense! A little nation of little people suddenly awakened to civilization, they have matched and anticipated the so-called 'Christian' nations in their Christian game of War. No wonder if their little heads swelled with pride. The wonder is that they show so great moderation, so little bluster and boastfulness.
"A happy, peaceable, contented, loving people by nature, they are grafting on civilized lust for wealth and feeling the pinch of competition in every direction. Discontent, strikes, etc., are growing. Ere long the happy little brown men will be unhappy and strifeful under the influence of our Western Civilization. During our visit at Tokio their street railway employees went on strike. What was the cause? A conflict between selfishness and justice!
"It had been announced that the surplus earnings of the railway, over and above a certain dividend on its capital, would be paid over to its employees as a bonus or supplement to their wages. The comparatively few officers took more than half of the bonus and gave over the remainder to the many conductors and motormen to divide among themselves. The selfish injustice was resented by the strike until a more equitable adjustment was arranged.
Secret of the Discontent.
"Knowledge is the mainspring of our present day unrest and discontent --everywhere machinery and science are producing wealth as never before in the world's history. The very sight of gold brings the thirst of avarice. Everybody wants to get rich--quick!
"The Bible tells that God purposes shortly to remove the curse and make the whole world rich with the bounties of Paradise restored. But Christians, with more Bibles than ever, are not Bible students, and do not know of God's gracious promises to the world --to be ushered in as soon as the elect Church shall have been glorified. Besides, the 'Higher Critics' have been busy undermining faith in the Bible for the past fifty years. Hence little faith in its inspiration remains.
"Without a better hope, education merely spurs on the whole world to chase the golden butterfly of wealth. Already the struggle to grasp it is like a football scrimmage in which many are exhausted, some being wounded and others being killed.
"But, alas! The chase for wealth, and angry battling on its account, are only begun, as all may see. The Bible alone foretells its awful severity --that 'unless those days should be shortened no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened,' they will be cut short by the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom, God's 'elect' instrumentality for the overthrow of Sin and the establishment of righteous and Messianic Socialism. But up to that time of Divine interference, it will be as the Bible foretells, 'A time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation'--'nor ever shall be afterward.'-- Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21.
"Wealth is good as a servant, but Mammon worship is demonizing. Knowledge is a priceless boon to the heart and head in tune with the Infinite One; but to others it is a doubtful blessing.
"This is the source of the trouble which is becoming more general as the days go by. Knowledge is reaching hearts and heads that are unwise rather than wicked, that have no knowledge of the Supreme and His purposes and promises. It requires much more grace to do right after one learns how to do wrong successfully. And it is so much more easy to contend and even to fight for Justice than to practice Justice in the little affairs of our own lives.
"In Great Britain we have examples of increased knowledge working trouble. [OV221] The railway servants, dock laborers and coal miners there have awakened to a realization of their importance to Society. They see that without their services the people would freeze or starve to death. They struck for a reasonable living wage. They succeeded, and their success alarmed the upper classes and encouraged themselves.
"The strikes were settled, but the men are still not satisfied. They are faring better than did their fathers in the same grades of labor, but they know of the change that has come to the world, through increased wealth. They declare that they will strike again, and do so without warning. Having no faith in Messiah's coming Kingdom, they say: 'If we submit we will be ground down into the mire; and our children's children would become serfs, slaves or worse.'
"Conditions are similar in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Russia and here at home. Civilization is sleeping beside a great volcano which gives every evidence that it will speedily be in eruption.
"The terror of that hour none can appreciate except from the standpoint of God's Word! The Bible pictures the strife at hand as demonical. Human sympathy will be swallowed up by human passion; selfish passion will burn, because the hoped-for easy victory will not come!
"To-day Capital and Labor are each serene, because each believes that it possesses the power to bring the other to its senses--to put upon the other a final quietus. Some trust in the ballot, others in the power of money to suspend business and let the people starve into submission. Others trust in their power to stop coal, and transportation of food, etc., until starvation settles the question for all time.
"Each miscalculates the resources of the other. All together they will be disappointed--only anarchy and terrible trouble will result, until Christ's Kingdom shall settle the strife --and thus 'The desire of all nations shall come.'"
A LITTLE WHILE
A LITTLE while, our warfare shall be over;
A little while, our tears be wiped away;
A little while, the power of Jehovah
Shall turn our darkness into gladsome day.
A little while, the fears that oft surround us
Shall to the memories of the past belong;
A little while, the love that sought and found us
Shall change our weeping into Heaven's glad song.
A little while! 'Tis ever drawing nearer--
The brighter dawning of that glorious day.
Blest Savior, make our spirit's vision clearer,
And guide, O guide us in the shining way!
A little while, O blessed expectation!
For strength to run with patience, Lord, we cry;
Our hearts up-leap in fond anticipation;
Our union with the Bridegroom draweth nigh.
[OV222]
OUR LORD'S RETURN
BY C. T. RUSSELL, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"If I go I will come again."-- John 14:3." THAT our Lord intended his disciples to understand that for some purpose, in some manner, and at some time, He would come again is, we presume, admitted and believed by all familiar with the Scriptures, for, when He said, "If I go, I will come again" (John 14:3) He certainly referred to a second personal coming.
Quite a number think that when sinners are converted that forms a part of the coming of Christ, and that so he will continue coming until all the world is converted. Then, say they, he will have fully come.
These evidently forget the testimony of the Scriptures on the subject, which declare the reverse of their expectation; that at the time of our Lord's second coming the world will be far from converted to God; that "In the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:1-4); that "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (Verse 13.) They forget the Master's special warning to his "little flock": "Take heed to yourselves lest that day come upon you unawares, for as a snare shall it come on all them (not taking heed) that dwell on the face of the whole earth." (Luke 21:34,35.) Again, we may rest assured that when it is said, "All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him," when they see him coming (Rev. 1:7), no reference is made to the conversion of sinners. Do all men wail because of the conversion of sinners? On the contrary, if this passage refers, as almost all admit, to Christ's presence on earth, it teaches that all on earth will not love his appearing, as they certainly would do if all were converted.
Some expect an actual coming and presence of the Lord, but set the time of the event a long way off, claiming that through the efforts of the Church in its present condition the world must be converted, and thus the Millennial Age be introduced. They claim that when the world has been converted, and Satan bound, and the knowledge of the Lord caused to fill the whole earth, and when the nations learn war no more, then the work of the Church in her present condition will be ended; and that when she has accomplished this great and difficult task the Lord will come to wind up earthly affairs, reward believers and condemn sinners.
Some Scriptures, taken disconnectedly, seem to favor this view; but when God's Word and plan are viewed as a whole these will all be found to favor the opposite view, viz., that Christ comes before the conversion of the world, and reigns for the purpose of converting the world; that the Church is now being tried, and that the reward promised the overcomers is that after being glorified they shall share with the Lord Jesus in that reign, which is God's appointed means of blessing the world and causing the knowledge of the Lord to come to every creature. Such are the Lord's special promises: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne....And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
The Apostle (Acts 15:14) tells us that the main object of the Gospel in [OV223] the present age is "to take out a people" for Christ's name--the overcoming Church, which, at his second advent will be united to him and receive his name. The witnessing to the world during this age is a secondary object.
"My Plans are Not as Your Plans."
A further examination of God's revealed plans will give a broader view of the object of both the first and second advents; and we should remember that both events stand related as parts of one plan. The specific work of the first advent was to die for men; and that of the second is to restore, and bless, and liberate the redeemed. Having given his life a ransom for all, our Savior ascended to present that sacrifice to the Father, thus making reconciliation for man's iniquity. He tarries and permits "the prince of this world" to continue the rule of evil, until after the selection of "The Bride, the Lamb's Wife," who to be accounted worthy of such honor, must overcome the influence of the present evil world. Then the work of giving to the world of mankind the great blessings secured to them by his sacrifice will be due to commence, and He will come forth to bless all the families of the earth.-- Heb. 9:24,28; Acts 15:14; Rev. 3:21.
True, the restoring and blessing could have commenced at once, when the ransom price was paid by the Redeemer, and then the coming of Messiah would have been but one event, the reign and blessing beginning at once, as the Apostles at first expected. (Acts 1:6). But God had provided "some better thing for us"--the Christian Church (Heb. 11:40); hence it is in our interest that the reign of Christ is separated from the sufferings of the Head by these eighteen centuries.
This period between the first and second advents, between the giving of the ransom for all and the blessing of all, is for the trial and selection of the Church, which is the Body of Christ; otherwise there would have been only the one advent, and the work which will be done during the period of His second presence, in the Millennium, would have followed the resurrection of Jesus. Or, instead of saying that the work of the second advent would have followed at once the work of the first, let us say, rather, that had Jehovah not purposed the selection of the "little flock," "the Body of Christ," the first advent would not have taken place when it did, but would have occurred at the time of the second advent, and there would have been but one. For God has evidently designed the permission of evil for six thousand years, as well as that the cleansing and restitution of all shall be accomplished during the seventh thousand.
Thus seen, the coming of Jesus, as the sacrifice and ransom for sinners, was just long enough in advance of the blessing and restoring time to allow for the selection of his "little flock" of "joint heirs." This will account to some for the apparent delay on God's part in giving the blessings promised, and provided for, in the ransom. The blessings will come in due time as at first planned; though for a glorious purpose, the price was laid down longer beforehand than men would have expected. Bide with patience: they will come.
Different Classes of "Elect."
Those who claim that Jehovah has been trying for six thousand years to convert the world, and failing all the time, must find it difficult to reconcile such views with the Bible assurance that all God's purposes shall be accomplished, and that His Word shall not return unto Him void, but shall prosper in the thing whereto it was sent. (Isa. 55:11.) The fact that the world has not yet been converted, and that the knowledge of the Lord has not yet filled the earth, is a proof that it has not yet been sent on that mission.
Glancing backward, we notice the [OV224] selection, or election, of Abraham and certain of his offspring as the channels through which the promised Seed, the blesser of all the families of the earth, shall come. (Gal. 3:16,29.) We note also the selection of Israel from among all nations, as the one in whom, typically, God illustrated how the great work for the world should be accomplished--their deliverance from Egypt, their Canaan, their Covenant, their laws, their sacrifices for sins, for the blotting out of guilt and for the sprinkling of the people, and their priesthood for the accomplishment of all this, being a miniature and typical representation of the real priesthood and sacrifices for the purifying of the world of mankind. God, speaking to Israel, said: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." (Amos 3:2.) This people alone was recognized until Christ came; yes, and afterwards, for his ministry was confined to them, and He would not permit His disciples to go to others--saying, as he sent them out, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not." Why so, Lord? Because, he explains, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matt. 10:5,6; 15:24.) All His time was devoted to them until His death, and there was done His first work for the world, the first display of His free and all-abounding grace, which in "due time" shall indeed be a blessing to all. When the called-out company (called to be sons of God, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord--who have made their calling and election sure) is complete, then this feature of the plan of God for the world's salvation will be only beginning.
Not until it is selected, developed, and exalted to power will the Seed bruise the serpent's head. "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." (Rom. 16:20; Gen. 3:15.) The Gospel Age makes ready the chaste virgin, the faithful Church, for the coming Bridegroom. And in the end of the age, when she is made "ready" (Rev. 19:7), the Bridegroom comes, and they that are ready go in with him to the marriage--the second Adam and the second Eve become one, and then the glorious work of restitution begins. In the next dispensation the Church will be no longer the espoused virgin, but the Bride; and then shall "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! And let him that heareth say, Come! And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."--Rev. 22:17.
The Gospel Age, so far from closing the Church's mission, is only a necessary preparation for the great future work. For this promised and coming blessing "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Rom. 8:22,19.) And it is a blessed fact that free grace in fullest measure, not merely for the living, but for those who have died as well, is provided in our Father's plan as the blessed opportunity of the coming age.
Pre-Millennarians Come Short.
Those who can see something of the blessings due at the second advent, and who appreciate in some measure the fact that the Lord comes to bestow the grand blessing secured by his death, fail to see this last proposition; viz., that those in their graves have as much interest in that glorious reign of Messiah as those who at that time will be less completely under the bondage of corruption--death. But as surely as Jesus died for all, they all must have the blessings and opportunities which he purchased with his own precious blood. Hence we should expect blessings in the Millennial Age upon all those in their graves as well as upon those not in them; and of this we will find abundant proof as we look further into the Lord's testimony on the subject. It is because of God's plan for their release that those in the tomb are called "prisoners of hope." What is, and is to be, their condition? [OV225] Did God make no provision for these, whose condition and circumstances He must have foreseen? Or did He, from the foundation of the world make a wretched and merciless provision for their hopeless, eternal torment, as many of His children claim? Or has He yet in store in the heights and depths, and lengths and breadths of His plan, an opportunity for all to come to the knowledge of that only Name, and, by becoming obedient to the conditions, to enjoy everlasting life? We read that "God is love," and "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish." (1 John 4:8; John 3:16.) Would it not seem that if God loved the world so much He might have made provision, not only that believers might be saved, but also that all might hear in order to believe?
Again, when we read, "That was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9), our observation says, Not so; every man has not been enlightened; we cannot see that our Lord has lighted more than a few of earth's billions. Even in this comparatively enlightened day, millions of heathen give no evidence of such enlightenment; neither did the Sodomites, nor multitudes of others in past ages. Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death "for every man." (Heb. 2:9.) But if He tasted death for the entire race of over twenty billions and from any cause that sacrifice becomes efficacious to only one billion, was not the redemption comparatively a failure? And in that case, is not the Apostle's statement too broad? When again we read, "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10), and looking about us, see that it is only to a "little flock" that it has been good tidings, and not to all people, we would be compelled to wonder whether the angels had not overstated the goodness and breadth of their message, and overrated the importance of the work to be accomplished by the Messiah whom they announced.
Another statement is, "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5,6.) A ransom for all? Then why should not all the ransomed have some benefit from Christ's death? Why should not all come to a knowledge of the truth, that they may believe?
Plan of the Ages--The God-Given
Key.
Without the key, how dark, how inconsistent, these statements appear; but when we find the key to God's plan, these texts all declare with one voice, "God is love!" This key is found in the latter part of the text last quoted--"Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." God has a due time for every thing. He could have testified it to these in their past lifetime; but since he did not it proves that their due time must be future. For those who will be of the Church, the Bride of Christ, and share the Kingdom honors, the present is the "due time" to hear; and whosoever now has an ear to hear, let him hear and heed, and he will be blessed accordingly. Though Jesus gave our ransom before we were born, it was not our "due time" to hear of it for long years afterward, and only the appreciation of it brought responsibility; and this, only to the extent of our ability and appreciation. The same principle applies to all; in God's due time it will be testified to all, and all will then have opportunity to believe and to be blessed by it.
The prevailing opinion is that death ends all probation; but there is no Scripture which so teaches. Since God does not purpose to save men on account of ignorance, but "will have all men to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4); and since the masses of mankind have died in ignorance; and since "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (Eccl. 9:10); [OV226] therefore God has prepared for the awakening of the dead, in order to knowledge, faith and salvation. Hence His plan is, that "as all in Adam die, even so shall all in Christ be made alive, but each one in his own order"--the Gospel Church, the Bride, the Body of Christ, first; afterward, during the Millennial Age, all who shall become His during that thousand years of His presence (mistranslated coming), the Lord's due time for all to know him, from the least to the greatest.--1 Cor. 15:22.
Thus we see that all these hitherto difficult texts are explained by the statement--"to be testified in due time." In due time, that true Light shall lighten every man that has come into the world. In due time, it shall be "good tidings of great joy to all people." And in no other way can these Scriptures be used without wresting. Paul carries out this line of argument with emphasis in Rom. 5:18,19. He reasons that, as all men were condemned to death because of Adam's transgression, so, also, Christ's righteousness, and obedience even unto death, have become a ground of justification; and that as all lost life in the first Adam, so all, aside from personal demerit, may receive life by accepting the second Adam.
Peter tells us that this restitution is spoken of by the mouth of all the holy prophets. (Acts 3:19-21.) They all teach it. Ezekiel says of the valley of dry bones, "These bones are the whole house of Israel." And God says to Israel, "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I...shall put my Spirit in you, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."--Ezek. 37:11-14.
To this, Paul's words agree (Rom. 11:25,26) --"Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles (the elect company, the Bride of Christ) be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved," or brought back from their cast-off condition; for "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." (Verse 2.) They were cast off from his favor while the Bride of Christ was being selected, but will be reinstated when the work is accomplished. (Verses 28-33.) The prophecies are full of statements of how God will plant them again, and they shall be no more plucked up. "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel. ...I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jer. 24:5-7; 31:28; 32:40-42; 33:6-16.) These cannot refer merely to restorations from former captivities in Babylon, Syria, etc., for they have since been plucked up.
Though many of the prophecies and promises of future blessings seem to apply to Israel only, it must be remembered that they were a typical people, and hence the promises made to them, while sometimes having a special application to themselves, generally have also a wider application to the whole world of mankind which that nation typified. While Israel as a nation was typical of the whole world, its priesthood was typical of the elect "little flock," the Head and Body of Christ, the "Royal Priesthood;" and the sacrifices, cleansings and atonement made for Israel typified the "better sacrifices," fuller cleansings and real atonement "for the sins of the whole world," of which they are a part.
A Crucial Test--The Sodomites.
And not only so, but God mentions by name other nations and promises their restoration. As a forcible illustration, we mention the Sodomites. [OV227] Surely, if we shall find the restitution of the Sodomites clearly taught, we may feel satisfied of the truth of this glorious doctrine of restitution for all mankind, spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets. And why should not the Sodomites have an opportunity to reach perfection, and everlasting life as well as Israel, or as any of us? True, they were not righteous, but neither was Israel, nor we who now hear the Gospel. "There is none righteous; no, not one," aside from the imputed righteousness of Christ, who died for all. Our Lord's own words tell us that although God rained down fire from heaven and destroyed them all because of their wickedness, yet the Sodomites were not so great sinners in his sight as were the Jews, who had more knowledge. (Gen. 19:24; Luke 17:29.) Unto the Jews of Capernaum He said: "If the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day."-- Matt. 11:23.
Thus our Lord teaches that the Sodomites did not have a full opportunity; and he guarantees them such opportunity when he adds (v. 24), "But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee." The character of the day of judgment and its work is shown elsewhere. (See Vol. I., "Scripture Studies," "The Divine Plan of the Ages.") Here we merely call attention to the fact that it will be a tolerable time for Capernaum, and yet more tolerable for Sodom; because, though neither had yet had full knowledge, nor all blessings designed to come through the "Seed," yet Capernaum had sinned against more light.
And if Capernaum and all Israel are to be remembered and blessed under the "New Covenant," why should not the Sodomites also be blessed among "all the families of the earth?" They assuredly will be. Let it be remembered that since God "rained down fire from heaven and destroyed them all" many centuries before Jesus' day, when their restoration is spoken of, it implies their awakening, their coming from the tomb.
In "due time" they will be awakened from death and brought to a knowledge of the truth, and thus blessed together with all the families of the earth, by the promised "Seed." They will then be on trial for everlasting life.
With this thought, and with no other, can we understand the dealings of the God of love with those Amalekites and other nations whom he not only permitted, but commanded Israel to destroy, saying, "Go smite Amalek and utterly destroy all they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Sam. 15:3.) This apparently reckless destruction of life seems irreconcilable with the character of love attributed to God, and with the teachings of Jesus, "Love your enemies," etc., until we come to recognize the systematic order of God's plan, the "due time" for the accomplishment of every feature of it, and the fact that every member of the human race has a place in it.
We can now see that those Amalekites, Sodomites and others were set forth as examples of God's just indignation, and of his determination to destroy finally and utterly evil-doers, examples which will be of service not only to others, but also to themselves, when their day of judgment or trial comes.
Some, who are willing enough to accept of God's mercy through Christ in the forgiveness of their own trespasses and weaknesses under greater light and knowledge, cannot conceive of the same favor being applicable under the New Covenant to others; though they seem to admit the Apostle's statement that Jesus Christ, by the favor of God, tasted death for every man. Some of these suggest that the Lord must, in this prophecy, be speaking ironically to the Jews, implying that he would just as willingly bring back the Sodomites as them, but had no intention of restoring [OV228] either. But let us see how the succeeding verses agree with this idea. (Ezek. 16:60-63.) The Lord says, "Nevertheless I will remember my Covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed when thou shalt receive thy sisters....And I will establish my Covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God."
"All Israel Shall Be Saved."
To this Paul adds his testimony, saying, "And so all Israel (living and dead) shall be saved (recovered from blindness), as it is written, 'There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my Covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins....They are beloved for the fathers' sakes; because the gracious gifts and callings of God are not things to be repented of."-- Rom. 11:26-29.
How different is this glorious plan of God for the selection of a few now, in order to be the blessing of the many hereafter, from the distortions of these truths, as represented by the two opposing views--Calvinism and Arminianism! The former both denies the Bible doctrine of free grace, and miserably distorts the glorious doctrine of election; the latter denies the doctrine of election, and fail to comprehend the blessed fulness of God's free grace.
The day of trouble will end in due time, when he who spake to the raging Sea of Galilee will likewise, with authority, command the raging sea of human passion, saying, "Peace! Be still!" When the Prince of Peace shall "stand up" in authority, a great calm will be the result. Then the raging, clashing elements shall recognize the authority of "Jehovah's Anointed," "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;" and in the reign of the Christ thus begun "shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
BROKEN PURPOSES
"My purposes are broken off;
even the thoughts of my heart."--
JOB 17:11.
MY purposes are broken off,
So be it, blessed Lord;
With wisdom and with wondrous Love
Thy purposes are stored.
The thoughts of my poor heart give place
To Thy great plan for me;
In all Thy ways my soul can trace
Thy mercy rich and free.
My purposes are broken off,
Dear Lord, 'tis better so;
For higher are Thy ways than mine,
Who to the end dost know.
I praise Thee still though broken off
My purposes may be;
For in Thy glory I shall know
Thy will was best for me.
[OV229]
The Golden Rule
By C. T. Russell
Pastor of Brooklyn and London Tabernacles.
"Whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to
them, for this is the law and the
prophets."--Matt. 7:12.
"How wise are God's commands,
How just his precepts are!"
OUR conception of God measures
our highest ideals and
principles. Whoever, therefore,
has a mean or slipshod
conception of the Almighty is bound
to be more or less mean and slipshod
in his conduct of life, for every man
or woman to some extent worships his
own highest ideal. And this is authorized
by our Redeemer's words, "Be ye
like unto your Father which is in
heaven." Our forefathers during the
Dark Ages burned one another at the
stake, and otherwise tortured one another
because of their misconception
of the Divine character; because their
ideals were too low. They truly believed
what they formulated in their
creeds and handed down to us;
namely, that God in the present time
is gathering from amongst men a
handful of saints for the heavenly condition
and that he will turn over the
remainder--all who walk not after the
spirit, but after the flesh--to eternal
torment at the hands of demons.
Having before their minds this misconception of the Bible teachings, they merely copy that misconception. That civilized men have gotten beyond those standards of the Dark Ages is a matter for congratulation. We regret, nevertheless, that their freedom from an error has not brought them all the blessing that it should. They have attained the higher ideal mostly by ignoring the Bible, by denying its infallibility, by accepting their own judgment and reasoning in supposed contradiction of the Bible teachings. How sad is the fact that a majority of the noble minds of Christendom today deny that the Bible is a divinely inspired revelation of God and consider it merely the work of well-intentioned but ignorant men, in comparison with whom the theologians of today are past-masters every way, quite competent to write, out of their own wits, matter much superior to that of the Bible, the Divine inspiration of which they deny.
The Foundation of God's Throne.
The Bible declaration that Justice is the foundation of the Divine Kingdom or Throne gives the mind pictorially an appreciation of the value of justice in its relationship to every element of the Divine character. "Be just before you are generous," is a proverb amongst men, which evidently is in full accord with what the Scriptures declare of God's character. He is first just--never anything less than just. His Wisdom, His Power, His Love must all co-ordinate with and rest upon this quality of Justice. And so it is with all those who would copy this character. They must first be just. A character built upon a foundation to any extent ignoring this is faulty, improper, sinful. The first man, made in God's image and moral likeness, must have had Justice as the foundation [OV230] of his character. And all of his descendants still possess this quality, though in varying degrees. We call it also Conscientiousness, Righteousness. Some, indeed, have this quality in so weak a degree that it is easily overbalanced by their other stronger qualities of mind, such as acquisitiveness, approbativeness, etc. It is for this reason that prisons are necessary to restrain all the stronger organs of men's minds and to encourage their conscientiousness, their sense of justice, righteousness. These standards of righteousness have, from the first, been considered and esteemed the Divine standards, and are still so esteemed, except by atheists.
During the Dark Ages reasoning minds tried the various expedients whereby to harmonize the justice of God with the "doctrines of demons," which misrepresented the Divine Program for mankind. (1 Tim. 4:1.) But in our day the dawning light from every quarter reveals to the awakened conscience the fact that the old creeds require of humanity far higher standards than they accredit to our Maker. We are to be just, generous, kind, loving. The pattern held up to us in the misleading creeds portrays our Almighty Creator as claiming all of those qualities, but by his course of dealing with humanity violating them, every one.
"Thy Righteous Acts Shall Be Made
Manifest."
Who, with an enlightened mind, can any longer claim that it would be just or kind or loving for God to bring into being a race of intelligent creatures, for the great mass of whom he had no better provision than an eternity of torture, and knew all this before he created them? Who can deny that it would have been more just, more kind, more wise and more loving to leave the entire race uncreated than to make provision for the eternal torture of 999 out of every 1,000 of them, or a worse proportion, for surely the saints do not number one in a thousand of the world's population?
The Bible freely tells us that many features of the Divine Plan are now hidden in mystery, but the last book of the Bible, which prophetically pictures the future, assures us that in God's due time "The mystery shall be finished, which He hath declared to His servants, the prophets." (Rev. 10:7.) The same book assures us that in God's due time, when the mystery is cleared, "All nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest." (Rev. 15:4.) We are now living in the time when the "mystery" is ending and the righteous dealings of God, from the Scriptural standpoint, may be clearly seen.
But these revelations are not meant for the world in general now, but merely for "the elect," the "sanctified in Christ Jesus." "To you it is given to know the mysteries;" to outsiders these things are spoken in parables and dark sayings. (Matt. 13:11,13.) But not until the elect shall be glorified and the Millennial Kingdom established will the "mystery" be made fully known to the world and every knee bow and every tongue confess. Hence, only those of a contrite heart may now see, now understand, the real character of God, his real purposes toward man, etc. Thus our Lord declares, "This is life eternal that they should know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."--Jno. 17:3.
To the class addressed by our Lord, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see," and for these alone, is the message that the hell of the Bible is the tomb, the state of death. They were all condemned to death through Adam's sin, and not one, according to the Scriptures, was condemned to eternal torment. It is for these to see and appreciate the love of God, which has made provision for the salvation of all men from the present state of degradation and sin and death. These alone may see that Jesus was "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," and not merely the sins of the church. These may see that the blessings [OV231] of salvation are for two classes of mankind--now for the saintly class, "the called according to God's purpose," and who are promised a share in the First Resurrection; and then during the Millennial Age, salvation for all of the race--an opportunity for restitution to man's original estate in the image and likeness of God.
The Golden Rule for the Church.
They make a great mistake who suppose that the Golden Rule, or indeed any of the messages of the Scriptures, were intended for the world of mankind. No; they are for the Church only, and this is shown not only by the fact that our Lord's words were addressed to His disciples, but also by the fact that the Apostolic Epistles similarly are addressed to the saints and the Household of Faith. Others cannot see, understand, appreciate, in the proper degree. The worldly mind can and does appreciate the maxim, "Honesty is the best policy"--in the long run, but it cannot appreciate the sentiment of our text, in the sense of being willing to adopt this as a principle and as a rule of life.
In harmony with this thought, we seek to impress the import of our text only upon those blessed of the Father who have been drawn, called, sanctified in Christ Jesus, and whose eyes to some extent have seen justice to be the foundation of the Divine character. The Golden Rule does not express all of the Christian's duty; he is expected to make progress in conduct and character development much beyond this. But this further progress marks his development in love. The Golden Rule marks the very lowest standard which must measure our dealings with others in the Church and in the world --justice. In a word, our text, although far above the ordinary course of humanity, should be in use every day and every hour by every follower of Christ. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." That our Lord was not giving this as a Gospel standard and love standard, we note the fact that he added the words, "This is the Law and the Prophets"--this is the teaching or demand of the law and the prophets upon all who would seek to do righteousness--Justice.
The measure of our development as New Creatures in Christ is whatever we attain in love above the standard of the Golden Rule. Justice demands us to render to others as we would have them render to us. Love says, I demand nothing, but show you the length and height and depth of Love Divine and wait expectantly to note your appreciation of this and how you will seek to be copies of God's dear Son, who laid down his life on our behalf. Addressing those who had made a consecration to discipleship, to walk in the Lord's footsteps, St. Paul says: "We ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren"--after the example of Jesus.
"Love Worketh No Ill."
All of the Lord's people are to love Him and the brethren; yea, even their enemies. However, let us now stop short of love and merely consider what the simple justice of the Golden Rule would imply in our conduct. How do our daily lives square with this Golden Rule of absolute justice, omitting love entirely?
If you are an employer, do you treat your employee in harmony with this rule, and do unto him as you would have him do unto you, if your positions were reversed? If you are an employee, inquire of yourself: "Do I treat my employer and his business as I would have him treat me and my business, if our relationship were reversed?" Do you treat your butcher, your baker, your grocer, etc., as you would like to have them treat you, if your positions were reversed? Are you polite to them and not inclined to give them unnecessary trouble? Do you pay them promptly? Or, if you are the tradesman, do you treat your customers as you would wish to have them treat you, if conditions were reversed? [OV232] Do you charge them a reasonable price only? Do you give them proper weight and measure? Do you properly represent your goods to them, as you would have them represented to you? Are you a good neighbor? Do you see to it that your children are not a nuisance to others; that your chickens are not permitted to damage your neighbor's garden; that your dog is not a ferocious one, and that his bark does not keep the neighborhood awake? In a word, do you treat your neighbor justly, along the lines of the Golden Rule, doing unto him only as you would wish him to do to you? Ask yourself that question occasionally.
Let us now step into your home and measure things there by the Golden Rule. As husbands, how do you treat your wives? As wives, how do you treat your husbands? Can you apply the Golden Rule to your words, to your conduct, to your demands of each other? Or do you act meanly, selfishly, taking advantage of each other, to the limit that the other will forbear? Do you deal with your children according to the lines of the Golden Rule? Are you an ideal parent, according to your own advanced standard of what a parent's duty should be to his children? Do you remember that you have a responsibility for their training; a responsibility so far as your circumstances will permit, for their environment and happiness and education and general preparation for usefulness in life? Or are you indifferent to their interests, neglectful of your responsibilities? Do you recognize that your children have certain rights and that these increase as they near maturity, or are you forgetful of these, disposed to keep the children under the restraints of childhood, souring their dispositions and making them unhappy, until they resent the injustice and a family quarrel results? As children, are you thoughtful of your parents, their welfare, their wishes, their happiness, as you would like your children to be thoughtful of yours? Do you remember the hours and weeks of feebleness and sickness and toil which you cost them in your infancy, and are you seeking to repay those kindnesses and seeking to make their last days the happiest of their lives? Are you observing the Golden Rule toward your parents? How is it in your relationship to your brothers and sisters? When they borrow your things without leave, do you retaliate by borrowing theirs without leave, and thus keep up a continual fret and vexation of spirit in the family? Or do you practice the Golden Rule of justice, and do nothing to your brother and sister, or their belongings, that you would not wish them to do to you or your things?
The Golden Rule in Church.
Surely in the Church you should remember the Golden Rule laid down by the Head of the Church. Nevertheless, I am sure that if you are unjust in your own family, and to your business associates, you will be unjust also in your dealing with the "Church, which is the Body of Christ." He that is unjust in little things would be unjust in greater ones. He who is faithful in little things will be faithful in the greater ones. He who practices the Golden Rule during the six days of his contact with business will surely be faithful on the seventh, but faithfulness to the Golden Rule on the one day only will never win Divine approval.
If I have taken upon me a denominational name, which stands for a denominational creed, do I really believe that creed and endorse it and uphold it? Or am I in a measure out of accord with it? Does it misrepresent me, or do I misrepresent it? Am I doing to my associates and to the Lord, the Head of the Church, as I would have them do to me? If not, I should square my conduct by the Golden Rule. I should be honest with my Lord, with my brethren and with myself, and make no false professions. Do I treat all the brethren as such, as the Apostle says, "Without partiality and without hypocrisy?" Or do I pick [OV233] out some of special class or calibre or style, and measurably ignore some of the poorer or less literate, who, perhaps, need my assistance more? Am I doing to all these a brother's part, as I would that they should do to me, if our positions were transposed? As the pastor, am I thoughtful of the interests of the brethren? Do I watch out for their liberties? Do I seek to impart to them freely whatever knowledge I possess, or am I trying to hoodwink them and to keep them in ignorance, and to hold them down? In a word, am I doing for the Lord's sheep, as an under-shepherd, what I would wish to be done to me by an under-shepherd, if I were one of the Lord's sheep under his care? Or, as one of the Lord's sheep, under a pastoral head, am I seeking by word and act to encourage and assist the pastor, as I would like to have the Lord's people do for me, if I were in pastoral service?
"A CUP OF COLD WATER"
THE Lord of the Harvest walked forth one day,
Where the fields were white with the ripening wheat,
Where those He had sent in the early morn
Were reaping the grain in the noonday heat.
He had chosen a place for every one,
And bidden them work till the day was done.
Apart from the others, with troubled voice,
Spake one who had gathered no golden grain:
"The Master hath given no work to me,
And my coming hither hath been in vain;
The reapers with gladness and song will come,
But no sheaves will be mine in the harvest home."
He heard the complaint, and He called her name:
"Dear child, why standest thou idle here?
Go fill the cup from the hillside stream,
And bring it to those who are toiling near;
I will bless thy labor, and it shall be
Kept in remembrance as done for Me."
'Twas a little service, but grateful hearts
Thanked God for the water so cold and clear;
And some who were fainting with thirst and heat,
Went forth with new strength to the work so dear;
And many a weary soul looked up,
Revived and cheered by the little cup.
[OV234]
Creed Smashing Necessary
For Federation--Congregational, Presbyterian
and Methodist
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Say ye not, A Federation, to all them to whom this people shall say, a Federation; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid."--Isaiah 8:12. THE desirableness of oneness in the Church of Christ is beyond dispute. The impropriety of sectarianism or division is now generally conceded, although twenty years ago many defended the divided condition of the Church as being helpful. They pointed to our Lord's words, I am the Vine and ye are the branches; every branch in me that beareth not fruit my Father, the Husbandman, taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit he pruneth, that it may bring forth more fruit.--John 15:1-5.
They claimed that the denominations were the branches. The evident teaching of the Master here is that his people are related to him in an individual sense and not as parties, sects or denominations, and that they are dealt with from the individual standpoint as one Church and not many.
St. Paul enunciated the same great truth (1 Cor. 12:13), declaring that the Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is his Body, and that as the human body has many members under the full control of the head, except when diseased, so the Church, as members in particular of the Body of Christ, are all to be subject to the Lord as their Head. They are all to be so connected with their Head, and thus with each other, that when one suffers, all suffer with it, and when one rejoices, all rejoice with it, because they all have fellowship in one spirit of the Head.
Hence the eye cannot say to the hand, nor the hand to the foot, I have no need for you, for every member is necessary to the prosperity of the Body as a whole. And as the joint supports and strengthens the limb and is joined thereto by sinews, etc., so individually God's people are united to each other in the bonds of grace and truth and love.
Church Federation Quite Different.
It must be conceded that Church Federation or Confederacy is in many respects quite a different thing from the Church's oneness illustrated by our Lord's parable of the vine, and the Apostle's illustration of the human body. Nevertheless, since a Federation is proposed as the nearest possible approach to the enjoined spiritual Union, it is proper that we and all Christians everywhere should enquire carefully the cost and the gain implied in the Federation movement. In this series of discussions the cost of Federation to the creeds of the most prominent denominations will be impartially considered. First in the list let us consider the sacrifices of Congregationalism, Presbyterianism and Methodism.
(1) As to Church Government very slight concessions will be required of any of the Federating denominations. Denominational liberties as respects forms of worship and methods of government and discipline are to be permitted very loose rein. The Federation proposes chiefly the regulation of home and foreign mission work and a general watch-care over the interests [OV235] of the federated systems along the lines of political influence. The expectation is that the political power of the Federation will have considerable to do with moulding of legislation favorable to the Federation, and later on, unfavorable to the smaller denominations not associated in the Federation.
(2) It is along doctrinal lines that the sacrificing in the interest of Federation will be chiefly demanded.
Doctrinally Congregationalists and Presbyterians are one; hence we may consider their sacrifice of doctrine in the interests of Federation as the same. They both accept the Westminster Confession of Faith with its Calvinistic foundation--that God, before the foundation of the world, foreordained whatsoever comes to pass; that he predestinated an elect, saintly few to heavenly glory, and equally foreordained that the remainder of thousands of millions of non-elect should be maintained in life to all eternity, in order that they might suffer excruciating pains, both mental and physical, never-ending, as a part of the supposed penalty of the "Original Sin" committed by our first parents in Eden.
No Infants in Eternal Torment.
Evidently there will be few people in these highly intelligent Christian bodies ready to insist, as our forefathers did, that this element of faith is essential to salvation. Few of us would agree with Brother John Calvin, the great architect of this creed, that fellow-Christians rejecting this doctrine should be burned at the stake, as Brother Calvin decided in respect to Brother Servetus. No, thank God! We have outgrown some of the narrowness which so terribly fettered some of our brethren during the dark ages.
Few any longer believe that there are "infants in hell not a span long," because non-elect. Even where the doctrine of Election is still blindly held, few have the temerity to state their belief that any innocent infant was predestinated to everlasting torture. But Brother Calvin's contention, expressed in the Westminster Confession, is that there are no innocent infants --that the condemnation of Original Sin was to eternal torture and that Adam's children, "born in sin and shapen in iniquity," were therefore not innocent, but guilty--born under the sentence of eternal torment and salvable from it only through membership in the Church of Christ.
The More Excellent Way.
Indeed we may say that this theory was still older than Calvin, for did not St. Augustine first declare the danger of infants to eternal torture and the necessity of their being brought into the Church of Christ by baptism in order to escape eternal torture? And is not the force of this teaching still manifest amongst both Protestants and Catholics, as evidenced by their fear to have an infant die unbaptized --so that some, in extreme cases, even practice "baptism in utero"?
Doctrinally Methodism is indirectly opposed to Calvinism in every sense of the word. Possibly Methodists will have less to concede than Calvinists, because, although in Wesley's day the doctrine of Free Grace was combated on every hand, it is now the tacit faith of the vast majority of Christendom. The doctrine that God had premeditated and irrevocably foreordained the eternal torture of our race except a handful of the Elect was too horrible a one to stand.
So the Methodist doctrine of Divine Love for all and Free Grace as respects salvation has appealed more and more to the growing intelligence of mankind. Nevertheless we cannot do otherwise than concede that it will matter little to the thousands of millions which all "orthodox" creeds consign to eternal torture whether they shall suffer eternal agonies as a result of Divine lovelessness in foreordaining their sufferings or of Divine inability to outwork for their benefit the supposed advantages of Free Grace arranged for them by Divine Love.
Our suggestion is that now, in the [OV236] lapping time of this Gospel Age with the oncoming New Dispensation, as the arc light casts the candle of the past into the shadow, so the clearer light now shining from the pages of God's Word casts into the shadow all the doctrines of the "dark ages," relieving us of the horrible nightmare which once beclouded our hearts and lives and made us fearful of our Creator as an all-powerful, but merciless sovereign.
In this blessed light now shining from God's Book have we not a basis for Christian union? Let us see! If we can find in God's Word that the doctrine of Election and the doctrine of Free Grace are both true, both Biblical, but that one belongs to the Church in this Gospel Age and the other to mankind in general in the coming Age, will not this solve our problem and give us doctrinal union instead of a mere federation based upon the ignoring of doctrine? We can all assent to this, therefore let us examine the facts.
The Bible assuredly declares a Divine election according to a Divine purpose foreordained--but not such an election as Brother Calvin outlined. God foreordained the selection of a Church, predestinating the number who would constitute its membership and the character of each one who would be acceptable as a member. He foreordained tests as to the worthiness of these members and the glorious reward that should be theirs and a great work which they shall be privileged to do for mankind--limitedly now, fully during the Kingdom reign. Accustomed to the election of fellow-citizens to the Presidency, to Congress, etc., where they will have the opportunity for blessing the non-elect, we should have carried this same thought to the Divine election of the Church. We should have discerned that the elect Church, the "Seed of Abraham" (Gal. 3:29), is specially intended to be the channel of Divine blessing to "all the families of the earth" (Gen. 28:14).
How strange that we overlooked this and the assurance that with the completion of the Church Messiah would exalt her in the "First Resurrection" to be his Bride and joint-heir in his Mediatorial Kingdom, to be established for the blessing of all mankind! How strange that we did not notice that every text of Scripture used by our Methodist brethren to substantiate their doctrine of Free Grace belongs to the New Age! As, for instance, the Bible, after telling us of the completion of the Church, now espoused to the Lord, and after her marriage or union with him at his Second Coming, as "the Bride, the Lamb's Wife," tells that then "the Spirit and the Bride shall say, Come, and whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely."-- Rev. 22:17.
Failure to Rightly Divide the Word of
Truth.
Ah, yes, we failed disastrously to keep the Apostle's command, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). We failed to thus divide the Truth and to note the portion applicable now and the other portion applicable during the office of the Mediator. Thank God, we are not yet too old to learn. We surely have been thoroughly sickened by our mistaken interpretations of the past, which made nonsense of both the doctrines --Election and Free Grace--and worse than this, defamed and vilified our Heavenly Father, "the God of all Grace."
In the light now shining we may see that the terms of the Divine election of the Church are in every sense of the word without partiality, except as regards character and faithfulness. Those now called with the heavenly calling to be of "the elect" are indeed invited to eternal life on the spirit plane, to be like unto the angels, but more exalted, while the opportunities to be granted to the world in general during the Mediatorial reign will be inferior, earthly, restitutionary--yet grand.--Acts 3:19-21.
[OV237]
But this difference of reward is counterbalanced by the severer trials and testings of those now called to be of the elect. They must walk by faith and not by sight. They must take up their cross and follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. They must count their lives not dear unto them, but willingly sacrifice their earthly interests that they may be participators with their Redeemer in glory, honor and immortality, and in his great work of the future--the blessing of the world of mankind with a mental, moral, social and physical uplift.
The Proper View of Election.
Cannot we all, Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Methodists, and all others of God's people, unite as one body upon this Scriptural hypothesis? Are we not satisfied with the terms of this election--that they are sufficiently stringent to exclude all except the saintly? Hearken to the Apostle's declaration, which we once so grievously misunderstood: He says of God's election, "Whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." In other words, when our Heavenly Father foreknew and predetermined to gather an elect Church as the Bride of Christ, he also predetermined that none could be members of it unless they attained through faith and obedience in the School of Christ character-likeness to Jesus--heart likeness to him--hence, as nearly as possible, an obedience of the flesh to his Law.
Surely no one will claim that any but a little flock has ever attained to this honored condition; hence our former ideas respecting the non-elect would consign the majority of our families, neighbors, friends and all the heathen to endless woe. But now how differently we see in God's Word that the elect class is selected in advance, that in God's due time, with the Redeemer, it may bless every creature with fullest opportunity to return to human perfection in a Paradise regained --restored during the Times of Restitution.
This proposition of the Scriptures includes those who have gone down to the prison-house of death--into Sheol, into Hades, both the evil and the good. All shall then know, from the least to the greatest, that "Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man." They shall know that the redeeming blood was not shed in vain, but will secure to each member of Adam's race, not eternal life, but an opportunity to attain eternal life--either on the heavenly plane during this Age or on the earthly plane during the Messianic Kingdom.
Have we not, in this beautiful election of the Bible, the basis for the grandest of all hopes, the highest of all ambitions, to be "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord?" Can we want more than this for ourselves? And does it not enhance the glory of this prize to have the prospect of conquering the world for Jesus and for the Father during the Mediatorial Kingdom in the only way in which it ever can be conquered --God's way?
Is it not for this Kingdom that our Redeemer taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on earth as it is done in heaven?" Is it not for this Kingdom that he taught us to wait, saying, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom"? (Luke 12:32.) Is it not for this Kingdom that the world waits? "Unto him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess." "The knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth." "All shall know him from the least to the greatest." "And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people."--Acts 3:23.
Shall we, then, stop merely with an outward federation or confederacy? Shall we not rather unite our hearts and heads and hands along the lines of the Divine promise given to us-- "In thee and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed?"-- Gal. 3:29.
[OV238]
Changes of Creeds Necessary
For Baptists, Adventists and
Disciples in Order to Federation
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Say ye not, A Federation, to all them to whom this people shall say, a Federation; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid."--Isaiah 8:12. NUMERICALLY Baptists, Adventists and Disciples represent more than one-third of the Protestants of the United States. What they must yield for Church Federation is therefore an important question. All three of these systems are built upon the Congregational platform, which recognizes as Scriptural the independence of each congregation as to its own creed in all matters of faith and Church order.
These bodies of Christians, therefore, could not join the Federation as denominations. The only method by which they could give adherence would be either by abandoning their principles of independence for which they have so long contended, or else by remaining quiescent while their ministers through Councils and Conferences essay to act for them. And here it should be noted that the membership of these large Christian bodies have more and more during the past thirty-five years shown their willingness to have their ministers regulate their affairs, even though contrary to their avowed principles of Church Government.
But it is from the standpoint of doctrines rather than Church government that we shall examine our subject. As we progress we shall find that some of the doctrines once considered all-important can in the light of our day be laid aside as obsolete--as hindrances in every sense of the word. Caution, however, would suggest that for every thing discarded as unscriptural the truthful substitute should be found-- otherwise our progress would be toward the destruction, not only of the bad of our creeds of the past, but also of their good features.
Doctrinal Surrender of Baptists.
Baptists will find little to dispute with their co-religionists of the Federation along general doctrinal lines; their chief difficulty will be in the matter of what constitutes Christian baptism--the necessity of water immersion to admission to Church membership. For years this doctrine has been even more tenaciously held than is generally realized.
Our Baptist brethren hold to justification by faith as a first or preliminary step which the sinner must take. But they equally hold that this is not the final step--that the step of sacrifice, the step of regeneration must follow in order to salvation. And a baptism in water they recognize as an indispensable outward indication of this regeneration. Hence it is standard Baptist doctrine, both North and South in all Baptist Churches with rare exceptions, that no unimmersed person should be esteemed a member of Christ's Church.
In a word, faith and reformation are steps of justification, but water immersion is the door into Christ. Only those who pass through this door are members of the Church of Christ from this viewpoint; hence, consistently, none others are invited to partake of the Eucharist--the Lord's Supper. The argument is that this Supper, symbolizing death with Christ, was [OV239] offered only to the consecrated and accepted members of Christ's Church.
What Baptists No Longer Believe.
Like the rest of us, our Baptist friends have been in the past rather illogical in all matters religious and doctrinal; so much so that many of them have never realized the full meaning of their doctrine. The meaning was grasped in the long ago, but has generally been lost sight of within the last fifty years.
It is this: Since water immersion is the evidence of obedience to Divine instruction and since all of "the elect" are not only instructed of God but obedient to him, therefore those not baptized in water are not of God's elect--are not members in his Church. And this in turn, according to Baptist doctrine, implies that all not immersed in water are outside of the Church--outside of the number of "the elect"--outside of God's favor-- outside of the salvation provided in Christ--and therefore inside the damnation and eternal torment which Baptist doctrines imply have been foreordained for the eternal torture of all the non-elect.
Do our Baptist friends who meet unimmersed Christians of other denominations in the walks of life from day to day really believe that the latter are on their way to an eternity of torture? Most assuredly they do not! But this is merely because they are illogical, like the rest of us. They are as illogical as their brethren of other denominations. They have outgrown at least this feature of the teachings of the "dark ages" handed down to them by well-meaning but less enlightened forefathers.
One glance at the matter will suffice to show our Baptist brethren that the very strongest features of their teaching need some revision. However fundamental may be the doctrine of baptism, some of their conclusions respecting it will be greatly advantaged by a liberal pruning. But caution should be used. The Bible should be consulted. We offer the suggestion that too hasty a rejection of water immersion would be a mistake--that the proper course for our Baptist friends is to study the Scriptures afresh on this subject.
What wonderful advantages are now at the command of all Bible students! They have marginal references by which one passage throws light upon another. They have also concordances, glossaries, indexes, and all manner of helps for Bible study. Our forefathers before the Reformation were generally illiterate. And even had they possessed education the pen-written Bibles were expensive and obtainable only in the Latin language. Indeed it is within only the last few years that Bibles have become cheap and plentiful and the masses able to read them.
What Must Adventists Concede?
The doctrine of the Second Advent of Christ is common to all denominations. And the Adventist belief that at that time the earth will be burned up is also a feature of all the various creeds. Many Adventists have abandoned the thought that the Savior's second appearing is at hand. And many more are abandoning the thought that when he appears Adventists alone will be saved and all the remainder of mankind will participate in the destruction and burning which shall then engulf the earth.
It should not be difficult for them to realize that there is no great necessity for controversy along the lines of the time of Christ's coming, since they acknowledge themselves completely in the dark on that subject. Neither can we suppose that after thoughtful consideration they should feel justified in assuming that they alone are "the elect." Let us hope that with broadening sentiment they are more and more realizing that there are saints and sinners in their own number, as well as in all denominations and as well as in the world; and that "the Lord knoweth them that are his" and will care for them regardless of denominational lines.
[OV240]
But for that portion of Adventists which considers the keeping of the Seventh Day of the week the all-important part of Christianity, we see no ground for Federation, unless, indeed, they may choose to get about the difficulty by counting the calendar the other way around the world. Thus they might bring their Seventh Day into harmony with what others term the First Day. Or, by counting the calendar in the opposite direction they may still keep their Seventh Day and realize that others are keeping the same day, though calling it the First Day.
Disciple Doctrine to be Voided.
Undoubtedly Alexander Campbell was a good man with a great head. And undoubtedly many of a similar class following his lead are today known as Disciples or Christians. Undoubtedly these are following closely to apostolic customs in the matter of Church organization, which in many respects is beautiful in its simplicity. Doctrinally they claim most faithfully to stand by the Word of God alone. And one of their familiar declarations is, "When the Word of God speaketh we speak; when the Word of God is silent we are silent."
But this beautiful simplicity of theory our Disciple friends have found difficult to work out in practice. Hence we find them as strongly intrenched behind unwritten creeds as are others behind elaborated creeds. These are inculcated through the writings of their standard authorities--including the editors of their leading journals. "Disciples" hold most tenaciously as the Bible teaching that baptism in water is indispensable to the remission of sins. This doctrine is supported by several Bible texts which declare, "Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins"; "Baptism unto repentance and remission of sins," etc.
Before pointing out their misapplications of these texts let us note the facts that according to their theory all others of mankind, Christians, Jews and heathen, who have not been immersed have not had their sins washed away. Consequently such are yet in their sins. Consequently such are lost. And lost, according to the general understanding of Disciples and other Christians, signifies shut out of heaven--shut out of Paradise-- shut into hell and its eternal torment.
Do our Disciple friends act as though they believe this teaching? Do they spend all of their time and energy and money in seeking to bring fellow-Christians into water baptism for the remission of sins and escape from eternal torture? Assuredly they do not. Hence we are justified in supposing that like our Baptist friends they have not taken seriously and logically their own doctrines. Rather they have assented to them thoughtlessly. It would appear to us, therefore, that doctrinally our Disciple friends might easily be prevailed upon to abandon their peculiar tenet to the extent that it would not hinder them from losing their identity as advocates of "baptism for the remission of sins" and merging themselves or federating with others.
To assist them out of the difficulty we remind them that all the Scripture they cite in support of immersion for the remission of sins belonged to the Jews, and none of it to Gentiles. The Jews were exhorted by John the Baptist and others to renounce sin, to return to harmony with Moses' law, and to show this change of character by water immersion.
But those Ephesians who believed in Christ and whom Apollos baptized for the remission of sins did not receive the Holy Spirit. St. Paul explained to them that their baptism was an improper one--that they as Gentiles required an immersion into Christ (Acts 19:1-7; Romans 6:3).
Baptist Union Not Federation.
In a former article we suggested to Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Methodists a union of heart and head as better than federation, so now we suggest to the denominations whose [OV241] doctrines we are here considering. What we shall suggest respecting baptism will apply to all Christians.
All Christians agree that Jesus and his Apostles taught baptism, and thus it is written: "One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism" (Eph. 4:5). We cannot here elaborate, but merely suggest that nowhere in the Scriptures is infant baptism commanded or urged. The expression, "Believe and be baptized" implies a mental development capable of belief beyond that which infants possess.
The original pretext for introducing infant baptism was set forth by St. Augustine, who urged that as all mankind were going to eternal torture except the Church, it was necessary to get infants into the Church; and baptism was set forth as the doorway. All parents, of course, were anxious that their children should be immersed into the Church and saved from eternal torture. And those good wishes were certainly commendable, even if unnecessary.
Subsequently immersion was declared to be unnecessary and sprinkling became its substitute with all. The thought of preservation from eternal torment thereafter attached to the sprinkling. Although our minds have broadened, so that comparatively few believe St. Augustine's presentation, nevertheless the custom of infant sprinkling continues with more or less of fear to abandon it for the child's sake.
Who will dispute that St. Paul's words of Romans 6:3-5 are the clearest presentation of the import of baptism furnished us in the Bible? The passage is cited in proof of every theory of baptism, yet it supports only one--the true one. Notice that it does not say, as many suppose, So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into water. It does say, "So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death." Is there not a difference? That difference is the explanation of all our difficulty on this subject. The clearing of it away furnishes the foundation for harmony between all; and not merely for harmony, but for union amongst all classes of consecrated Christians.
Baptism Into Christ's Death.
Consider the passage critically. First, immersion into Christ signifies to the justified believer his immersion into, his burial into, the Body of Christ as a member of "the Church which is his Body" (Eph. 1:22,23). The Apostle sets forth clearly a distinction between the Church and the world and between the salvation of the Church and the salvation of the world. The Church are "the elect" of the Lord, called and chosen; and if faithful, they will be members of the glorious Church beyond the vail. She, as the Bride of Christ, will be His companion and Queen during the Mediatorial reign of glory for the blessing of the world--for the blessing of the non-elect.
St. Paul not only tells us of our need to be thus immersed into membership in the Body of Christ, but he proceeds to tell us how that membership can be brought about. The words, "Baptism into his death" explain the matter. How strange that we ever thought these words signified water immersion! Our eyes are now opened! Plainly, now, we see that "into his death" signifies our participation with our Lord Jesus in suffering for righteousness, in self-denials, self-sacrificings of the same character as those endured by the Master.
It is true indeed that the whole world suffers pain, sorrow, disappointment, etc.; yet our Lord suffered differently from all others, and our dying must correspond to his. He suffered, the Just for the unjust. The holy, harmless, undefiled One laid down his life sacrificially, voluntarily, joyfully. And we, to share in his death, to be "baptized into his death," must do the same.
True, Jesus was spotless, while we are members of the fallen race. But we are justified through faith in his blood. And hence we have in the [OV242] Divine sight through him a standing of human perfection or justification. This standing is granted to us or imputed to us for the very purpose of permitting us to sacrifice our human rights and earthly interests as he sacrificed his. The "elect" are to be dead with him, that in the resurrection they may live with him and be like him and share his glory, honor and immortality. By consecration we present our bodies living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God, as the Apostle declares (Rom. 12:1). Thus we are "immersed into his death" and thus we become members of his body.
Whoever fails to be thus immersed into Christ's death will fail of the membership in his Body--will fail to be of his elect Church, his Bride. The difference between being dead with Adam and being dead with Christ is very great. By nature we are all dead with Adam. He was a sinner, condemned. We as his offspring are the same. It was necessary therefore that we should by faith be lifted out of this condition of death with Adam, in order that by consecration of all earthly interests we might become dead with Christ. Thus we share with him his sacrificial death and, by participation in "his resurrection," will also become sharers of his Kingdom glory.
Jesus' Baptism Ended on the Cross.
Ridding ourselves, then, of the unscriptural theory of an eternal torment awaiting the non-elect, may not all Christians perceive the reasonableness of the Divine proposition to bless the world through the elect? As Jesus by his sacrifice was made Head of the Church, so all who will be his members must share his spirit of self-sacrifice --death to the world and earthly interests. Only such may share with him in his Messianic Kingdom work of blessing, uplifting, instructing, assisting all of the non-elect.
Many of the non-elect under the fuller light and better opportunities of the Mediatorial reign will turn from sin to righteousness, from death to life eternal. This "baptism into death" with its blessed reward excludes none of any denomination. It includes in the Church of the elect those of every denomination and of no denomination who comply with its conditions of faith and obedience and consecration unto death.
Was not this our Lord's baptism as he described it? Just before his crucifixion he said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am straitened (troubled) until it be accomplished!" His baptism dated from his consecration at Jordan, but it was not fully "accomplished" until on the cross he cried, "It is finished"--his baptism into death was finished.
Was not this baptism into death what he referred to when speaking to his disciples? James and John requested that they might sit on his right and left hand in the Kingdom. In reply Jesus said, "Are ye able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Surely he did not refer to a water immersion! Surely he did refer to his baptism into death, and meant his Apostles to understand that only by sharing in his baptism into death could they hope to sit with him in his Throne (Mark 10:37).
With this reasonable, logical, Scriptural view of baptism before our minds which of us would be inclined to dispute over the form of the symbol or in respect to the class of persons who should properly use the symbol? Surely none would claim that infants could thus believe and thus consecrate to death! Surely all would agree that a symbolical immersion into water such as was practised by the early Church, according to all the records, would be the most reasonable, most beautiful, most appropriate method of symbolizing the real baptism into Christ--into his death.
Let us, therefore, not be content merely to federate! Let us unite our hearts and heads and hands as members of the Body of Christ; let us be baptized with his baptism, into his death!
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Episcopalian, Catholic, Lutheran
What These Creeds Surrender to Enter the Church
Federation Proposed
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Say ye not, A Federation, to all them to whom this people shall say, a Federation; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid."--Isaiah 8:12. OF THE THREE oldest denominations of Christendom Episcopalians, Catholics and Lutherans--the latter have least to surrender. Their tenacity for the Word of God they may still maintain, even though others of the federated bodies might more and more abandon the Holy Scriptures, under leadership of the Universities, Colleges and Seminaries teaching Higher-Criticism-Infidelity and the Evolution theory.
Some Things in Common.
The Federation nevertheless would still permit Lutherans and others to love and reverence the Word of God and yet be in fellowship. Almighty God, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, firmly believed in by Lutherans, would all be acknowledged with more or less of mental reservation by all the denominations associated in the Federation. Nothing along these lines would need to be abandoned. Even Luther's plea of consubstantiation in the Eucharist may be held without objection. Even the honor of being the first denomination of the Reformation might still be held. We conclude, then, that Lutherans would not be required to sacrifice anything.
Episcopalians and Catholics have some things in common. They each claim to represent the original apostolic Church. They each claim (through their bishops in the laying on of hands) apostolic authority. Their common claim is that all other denominations of Christians whatsoever, are false churches without Divine authority, and hence not to be recognized or tolerated. Accordingly no minister of another denomination would be permitted to preach either in a Catholic or an Episcopalian pulpit. And if by mischance such a circumstance should occur it would be considered necessary to purge the sacred spot by a kind of re-consecration. From the standpoint of these denominations all others are heretics; but, they say, not willingly so, but ignorantly so.
Here note the fact that a cleavage is in process among Episcopalians. A minority, termed high-churchmen, are gradually separating Romeward, while the majority are sharing the sentiments of other Protestants, to the effect that the matter of "apostolic succession" is probably less important than their forefathers supposed.
For the purposes of this discussion we may without offense ignore the high-church minority and say that the Scriptures which plainly foretell the perfecting of Church Federation indicate that it will include Episcopalians, but will not include Catholics. Nevertheless the intimation is that while [OV244] the Federation will be a Protestant one, it will not be anti-Catholic. On the contrary, the two great systems, Catholic and Protestant, will fraternize and co-operate along various lines-- especially in the manipulation of social and political influences.
Episcopals Sacrifice a Little Pride.
The breadth of the Episcopal creed will not call for particular sacrifices in Federation, if only their pride on the subject of apostolic succession can be satisfied. They are all prepared to admit that no particular wisdom or holiness has been communicated from generation to generation, from bishop to bishop and from bishop to lower clergy through the laying on of hands. They are willing to admit that there have been men as wise and others as foolish outside as inside their Communion.
They are willing to admit that no greater light upon the Word of God and its meaning has come down to humanity through its channels than through outside channels. They are willing to admit that their clergy have no more of Divine Grace and Truth, Wisdom and Power than have others of God's people, both clergy and laity, outside their boundaries.
Hence they are willing, nay, anxious for Federation, and ask only that their "face be saved," by some acknowledgment of the long idolized thought that ability to expound the Scriptures and the Grace of God in expounding them could be had only through their channel. They have no desire to prove their claim to superior grace and truth by measuring swords of the Spirit with other ministers.
Up to the present time Episcopalians decline to be parties to the Federation unless their special claim be in some sense or degree recognized. Pride says it would never do to retract now all that the denomination has stood for in separation for centuries. They would urge Christians of the other denominations, especially the clergy, to consider the advantage which would accrue to the Federation by having all Protestant ministers accept their ordination. They do not claim that it would make them wiser or better men, nor more efficient teachers, either of truth or error. But they do claim that it would give them an authority in the eyes of the people, and give color and reasonableness to the Federation of many churches with discordant creeds posing as one church in the Federation arrangement.
The Common People Thinking More.
The argument is, "The common people, the laity," are disposed more than ever to think for themselves on religious subjects, and to study the Bible for themselves. If, therefore, as ministers, you desire to hold the people in check so that they shall not think for themselves you would do well to concede the claim of apostolic succession --that no one is permitted to interpret or teach the Bible except those who have received apostolic benediction.
It was disregard of this claim of apostolic benediction which led to freedom of thought on religious subjects and ultimately led to the formation of the various sects. You should now seek to restrict further investigation of the Bible and further interpretation of it by accepting our theory, by permitting us to grant you recognition in some simple form of the rights of apostolic authority through our bishops. If you do not do so, you will more and more lose your hold on the people, for we are coming more and more to a time of individual thought on every topic.
The Scriptures intimate that this argument will ultimately prevail and great Protestant denominations be thus vitalized and in cooperation with Catholicism, for a short while dominate Christendom socially and politically, crushing out individual thought and negativing and black-listing all religious teachers outside the Federation and its Catholic ally. From this standpoint, the Episcopal system will lose [OV245] nothing, but even be a gainer of prestige through the Federation.
For Catholics to join the Federation would signify the surrender of a great deal, and yet in the light of the Twentieth Century, surely much could be surrendered without any sacrifice of manhood--merely with the sacrifice of a little pride. For the Church at Rome to federate with the Protestant churches would mean that they ceased to protest and that she relinquished her peculiar claims:
What Catholics Would Surrender.
1. That she alone is the Church of Christ and has authority to instruct.
2. That she is more than a Church or prospective Kingdom--that to her has been committed by God the rulership of the world in respect to all matters temporal and spiritual, hence that she is the reigning Kingdom of God.
3. That her Pope is the authorized representative of Christ, anointed and commissioned of God to fulfill all the prophecies of the Scriptures respecting the reign of Christ, his Mediatorial Kingdom, etc. This claim of Papacy that the Pope's reign is de facto the reign of Christ is expressed in the declaration that he is the Vice-gerent of Christ--the one reigning instead of Christ.
4. The doctrine of trans-substantiation --that by the blessing of a priest the ordinary bread and wine are transmuted into the actual soul of Christ-- (his flesh and his blood) for sacrifice afresh in each celebration of the Mass.
Whatever may have been true in the remote past, assuredly our Catholic friends can no longer claim that all the purity, all the faithfulness to God, all the sanctity of life amongst believers in Christ are to be found in her communion. St. Paul declares, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." Surely all Christians admit this standard and the correctness of the Apostle's teaching.
Hence the ignoring and setting aside of all creeds and barriers which have heretofore hindered the Unity of the Church of Christ might be possible. Thus the first Catholic objection might easily be removed in favor of Federation, or, still better, in favor of Union. As our Episcopalian friends fail to prove that the apostolic succession to ordination gave either greater wisdom or more grace to their clergy than to other ministers of the Gospel, might not our Catholic friends reasonably admit the same?
The second claim that Papacy is God's Kingdom, that the Popes reign successively as Christ's Vice-gerent, should not be difficult for Catholics of our day to lay aside. However strongly it was held in the dark past, it is surely little appreciated by Catholics to-day. No longer do the Popes dominate the civil rulers in Christendom. And no longer do the people consider it wise that they should do so.
A Claim Now Easy to Lay Aside.
More and more the masses appreciate the fact that the original kingdom of earth was given to Father Adam and that mankind as his children are the natural heirs of the inheritance. More and more the people are disposed to consider popes, czars, emperors and kings as merely figureheads, without any real title or authority from heaven to rule or to coerce the people. More and more the masses demand Congresses, Parliaments, Reichstags and Doumas. And more and more do they demand that these shall reflect the sentiments of the people in civil and religious matters.
The day of darkness and ignorance in which the people believed that popes and kings were Divinely appointed to rule them with Divine authority has gone by. General intelligence has taught mankind that it is a mistake to suppose that one God-appointed king and kingdom were Divinely appointed to wipe another Divinely appointed king and kingdom off the face of the earth. Hence popes and kings now admit that they reign by a popular sufferance, and their appeals for money, for armies and navies [OV246] is no longer on the score that they were Divinely instructed to obliterate each other, but on the score of self-defense.
Divine Appointment Not Believed.
This claim, however, wholly destroys the argument that we are now or ever in the past have been under Christ's Kingdom, either direct or through the popes. Neither now nor at any other time in the world's history has there been a reign of righteousness such as the Scriptures declare Christ's Kingdom shall inaugurate. May we not, then, with good grace--Catholics and Protestants--admit that neither our Catholic popes, emperors and kings, nor our Protestant kings, emperors and heads of Churches are reigning with any Divine authority manifest to human judgment?
Let us humbly admit the nonsense of the legends on our coins, Catholic and Protestant, to the effect that kings and popes reign by the grace of God-- by Divine appointment. Let us rather say that they came into power through the exercise of brute force and in a time of common public ignorance. Nor by this do we mean any disrespect to the governments of to-day--rather we have shown that to-day the people are ruling through their Congresses, Parliaments, Reichstags, etc., and that the kings and emperors are mere figureheads of power, more or less useful and dependent upon the good-will of their people.
If it be asked how we shall account for the period of the Dark Ages and autocratic and devilish misrule, our reply would be to point to the Apostle's words. He declares that Satan is the god or ruler of this world, who now operates through the disobedient --through those not in harmony with God, who constitute the vast majority in Christendom and elsewhere. And we remind you that our Lord Jesus also spoke of Satan as being the Prince of this world or age (John 12:31), and of himself as the Prince or Ruler of the coming Age, the Millennial Age (John 18:36).
Ah, yes! the sooner both Catholics and Protestants admit what they and all the world now see, the better-- namely, that for a long time our great Adversary held us in a bondage of ignorance and superstition, in getting free from which many bright minds have reacted towards infidelity, because they did not see that many of the teachings of the past, both Catholic and Protestant, were not only irrational, but most positively unscriptural teachings of men, and, as St. Paul declared, "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).
Not Vice-gerent Christ.
In view of the foregoing--in view of the fact that the Divine titles of all kings and emperors are now abrogated, papacy need feel no special disgrace to her cause in similarly abrogating the claim that the popes reign as representatives of Christ or have authority so to do. Indeed, such a claim is more safely denied than held, for in the light of our day papacy's best friends cannot look into the past and point with pride to any achievements as properly representing the reign of the Prince of Peace--Immanuel. In the light of the present all of God's people, Catholics and Protestants of every shade, should rejoice to join in the Lord's Prayer--"Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven." Surely this is what all saints of all denominations should desire and pray for and labor for.
Not that we can hope to bring it to pass of ourselves, however. Nearly nineteen centuries of efforts show to the contrary. Even our last century of great missionary endeavor, Catholic and Protestant, proves this. United States statistics show that in the year 1800 there were six hundred millions of heathens, and that in the year 1900 their numbers had doubled--there were twelve hundred millions of heathens. While continuing our exertions [OV247] on behalf of the heathens abroad and at home, let us tie our faith to the Apostle's words and "wait for God's Son from Heaven" (1 Thess. 1:10).
Trans-substantiation, Masses,
Purgatory.
At the second coming of Christ and the glorification of His Church, "His elect," "His saints," gathered from all denominations, Catholic and Protestant (and some from outside of all of them)--only then will the glorious reign of Christ and the Church begin. Only then will the spiritual Seed of Abraham be complete and the work of blessing the unregenerate world begin --the Messianic Kingdom work--the overthrow of Satan and his empire-- the scattering of darkness, ignorance and superstition which he fostered-- the flooding of the earth with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God --the restoration of natural Israel to Divine favor--the bringing in of everlasting righteousness through a mental, physical and moral uplift. Whoever, then, shall refuse all those blessings and privileges will be destroyed from amongst the people. Thus eventually in the close of the new dispensation God's will shall be "done on earth even as it is done in heaven"-- as fully, as completely. This is the "Kingdom of God's dear Son," for which we wait and pray. And however good or bad other kingdoms, temporal or spiritual, have been, we need no longer consider them substitutes for this one which shall be the "desire of all nations" (Haggai 2:7).
We are free to admit that the Catholic doctrines of Trans-substantiation, Masses and Purgatory would be difficult for our Catholic friends to abandon for the sake of Federation or for any other reason. Nevertheless we believe that in the light of our day there is more to be learned upon these important doctrines.
Without agreeing with these doctrines --without claiming Catholic affiliation, let us here say that the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, which lies at the foundation of these three, is in many respects more rational than our Protestant doctrine of eternal torture. It would surely be more God-like to provide some way of escape for the millions of humanity than to leave thousands of millions uselessly in untellable anguish to all eternity.
Summing up, then, we find that Lutherans would have nothing to lose by Federation--nothing to surrender, except a little pride. Episcopalians likewise will find Federation to cost them little. They can well afford to join the Federation, especially on terms upon which they insist--the recognition of the apostolic succession. And this they can afford to concede in its very mildest form, realizing that it has never specially advantaged them anyway and is impossible of demonstration, in view of the fact that the Scriptures declare that there are but twelve apostles of the Lamb and symbolically show only a twelve-star crown to the Church during this Age and only twelve foundations to the New Jerusalem--the Church in glory. How, then, could bishops either possess or give apostolic blessings? (Rev. 12:1, 21:14.)
Do Not Federate--Unite.
Reminding all that our text opposes Federation, we conclude by advising the Protestant Christian Communions discussed foregoing not to be content with Federation, but to go the entire length of Union--dropping all their pet ideas and acknowledging as fellow-Christians and fellow-members of the Body of Christ, the Church, all who acknowledge Jesus as their Savior, their Redeemer, and who turn from the ways of sin and to the best of their ability walk in the path of righteousness, and who make full consecration of themselves to the Lord. These are and ever should be ONE in the most absolute sense possible, both now and beyond the veil.
[OV248]
Thrust in Thy Sickle
By C. T. Russell
Pastor of Brooklyn and London Tabernacles.
"The World that Was"--"The Present Evil World"--"The World to Come."
Text--"Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap."--Rev. 14:15. INTELLIGENT people appear to reason upon every subject under the sun except on religion. Approach a man upon any matter of industry or social progress, or political economy or finance, and we find him reasonably alert to the general law of Cause and Effect, but when it comes to religion the same man refuses to recognize or follow such laws. To illustrate: If a thousand religious men and women were asked to give some general outline of the Divine Plan under which humanity is being dealt with by the Almighty, nine hundred and ninety-nine of them would look at you in blank astonishment as though it were absurd to suppose that God would conduct his affairs along the lines of order, reason and common sense--Cause and Effect. On the contrary, the Scriptures everywhere hold that our Creator is systematically ordering the affairs of earth and "working all things according to the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1:11).
St. Peter divides the world's history into three great epochs, which our common version Bible designates as "worlds." The first of these, he says, lasted from the creation of our first parents to the flood. The flood was the harvest time, the reaping time, of that epoch. It was the conclusion to the course of sin which, he tells us, there prevailed. And only eight persons, Noah and his family, were carried over as a nucleus for another great epoch, or "world," which St. Peter calls, "The world that now is," and which St. Paul calls, "This present evil world" or epoch, and of which Jesus states, "My kingdom is not of this world (epoch)," while again He informs us that Satan is "the Prince of this world."
Certain things have been in progress --certain great instructions and blessings from the Almighty during this long period of over forty-three hundred years. "This present evil world" or epoch is to have a harvest time, and its affairs are to be as thoroughly wound up, completed, as were the affairs of "the world before the flood." Then a new epoch or "world to come" will dawn, the character of which is clearly delineated in the Scriptures as being very contrary in every way to that of "this present evil world." It will be "The world to come, whereof we speak," the new epoch, figuratively said to have "a new heavens and a new earth," in which the Lord will dominate human affairs. His elect Church of the present time associated with Him as His Bride, will constitute the "new heavens" or new spiritual domination under which human regeneration will bring the "new earth." Under that new dispensation everything will be in accord with the character of its King, the Prince of Light and Righteousness, just as the conditions of "the present evil world" are in harmony with the characteristics of the "Prince of this world, who now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience"--"the Prince of Darkness."
"The World That Was."
The "world" or epoch which ended at the flood accomplished a great work. It was during that period of sixteen hundred and fifty-six years that God first tested Satan by permitting him to have an opportunity to show the traitorous attitude of his heart in connection with our first [OV249] parents. Desiring to establish himself as an Emperor over earth, separate and distinct from the Empire of Jehovah, Lucifer became Satan, God's Adversary, and has since continued in his opposition to the Divine will. Our first parents, through Satan's lie, were led into disobedience to God, which resulted in the death sentence on Adam and his race. Subsequently for centuries the holy angels were allowed to have intercourse with fallen men, with a view to helping them back into harmony with God, not that God expected any such results, for he already knew that there could be no recovery of humanity, except through the merit of the Redeemer, whose sacrifice would purchase the world and whose reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords would ultimately restore the willing and obedient of the race. But the angels to all eternity might have supposed that an easier way of saving men was possible; that if permitted they could educate, assist and uplift mankind out of sin and death conditions back to harmony with God. God not only desired to show that all such results were impossible, but also He desired to use the opportunity to rest, to prove, the loyalty, the faithfulness of the angelic hosts.
Amongst the liberties granted to all the angels at that time was the power to materialize--to assume human forms. We need not stop to discuss the possibility of this, for we are addressing those who believe the Scriptural record, and to such it will be quite sufficient for us to cite one of the many Scriptural instances; the case of the three men who appeared to Abraham and were subsequently found to be angels--spirit beings. They looked, talked, ate and were clothed like men. Abraham knew not who they were until subsequently they revealed their identity, as we read in the account of Genesis 18. The Apostle Paul adds his testimony to this incident, saying to the Church, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2).
For long centuries this relationship between the angels and mankind continued. We have no record of any human being receiving an uplift from their ministrations. On the contrary, as God had foreseen, the influence of sin was contagious and ere long some of the angelic hosts became so enamored of the daughters of men that "they took to themselves wives of such as they chose," and preferred to leave their own habitation or spirit condition and to remain in a materialized form and to raise earthly families, although their course was contrary to the Divine arrangement and must have been so understood by them. Divine power was not interposed to hinder them. The error of this sedition, the leaving of their own habitation or plane of spirit being, from a small beginning, spread, and God's non-interference justified the supposition that he was either not able to cope with the situation, or unable to enforce His own Law. Thus centuries rolled by, while the earthly children of "those angels which kept not their first estate" became "giants and men of renown" at a time when maturity was not reached for at least one hundred years (Genesis 6).
During all those centuries we may be sure that every one of the holy angels had fullest opportunity to participate in the seductive pleasures of sin. And we may be quite sure during that epoch or age God demonstrated fully, completely, which of the angels were in heart and deed, in spirit and in truth, loyal to him and to all the principles of his righteousness. This work having been accomplished, that "world before the flood" was brought to an end, was overwhelmed by a flood of waters, the Lord declaring that the whole earth had become corrupt through this evil. The influence of the angels along licentious lines seemingly tended more and more to degrade humanity, so that we read that God beheld that "every imagination of man's heart was evil, and only evil, and that continually." [OV250] "This Present Evil World."
"This present evil world" differs from "the world before the flood" in that it is not under the ministration of the angels--but man, in a general sense, is left to himself. Since the flood, the world in general has been going on just as if there were no God, the exceptions, aside from the Jewish nation and the Church of Christ, being the destruction of the Sodomites and the preaching of Jonah to the Ninevites, warning them that they were about to perish. In other words, so far as outward appearance goes, God has allowed the world to take its own course, interfering only when the corruption became so great as to make life injurious rather than a favor.
St. Paul, reviewing the question of human degradation as exhibited in heathendom, etc., explains that the great deterioration in the human family is the result of man's being left to himself as respects the Divine supervision. He says, looking back along the line of Noah's descendants, "When they knew God they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind"--they giving themselves over to things that were not profitable, defiling themselves, etc. (Romans 1:21-27).
This condition of things continued from Noah's day until three and one- half years after our Lord's crucifixion, when the special favor of God toward the nation of Israel terminated and the "middle wall of partition was broken down"--Cornelius being the first Gentile admitted to the privileges of the Gospel.
During the long period from Noah to Christ--twenty-five hundred years-- God, as we have seen, had no dealing with the world, but he did have very special dealings with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then subsequently with the nation of Israel. To those patriarchs He gave an Oath-Bound Covenant, that through their posterity He would ultimately bless all the families of the earth. Moreover, the character of the promise was such that it implied the resurrection of all the families of the earth that have gone down into death under the great Adamic sentence (Romans 5:12,17,19).
The nation of Israel was segregated from all the other nations of the world and bound to the Lord and He to them by the Covenant of the Law entered into at Mt. Sinai. Under the terms of that Covenant it was implied that that whole nation should constitute the seed of Abraham and rule and bless all other nations, but the conditions were the keeping of the Law perfectly. God, of course, knew that, as imperfect men, Israel had undertaken an impossible contract. But he also knew that under his supervision the contract would not eventually be to their disadvantage, but the reverse. He used that nation as a typical people, their jubilees representing the "times of restitution" (Acts 3:20) coming to the world under the Millennial reign of Christ. Their day Sabbath typified a coming blessing to Spiritual Israel. Their year Sabbath typified a coming blessing to the world, to the universe. Their Day of Atonement for sins typified the day of better sacrifices, of Christ and the Church. Indeed, we may understand that fleshly Israel and all of its great affairs were typical foreshadowings of God's greater blessings to come in after dispensations.
Jewish Favor Culminated.
The culmination of the Lord's dealings with Israel was reached, as He had intended from the beginning, when our Lord Jesus left the glory of the Father on the heavenly plane and was made flesh, being born under the Law Covenant. Not being a direct member of the human family, but "holy, harmless and separate from sinners," he was perfect and fully able to keep all the terms of that Law Covenant, and did so. Thus, under the provisions of the Law Covenant he, and he alone of all the Jewish nation, [OV251] could claim the rights of the Abrahamic Covenant--the blessings foretold and the rightful authority to bless men, for, as the ruler of earth, he took the place of Father Adam with all his rights and authorities described in Psalm 8:4-6.
By keeping these rights and privileges as a man our Lord indeed would have been an earthly potentate of considerable dignity, the highest amongst men. But the Father's place for Him and for the world was far higher than this. As an earthly potentate He would have ruled over a falling and dying race and would have been privileged merely to counsel, rule and direct their imperfect energies; but he never could have brought them to eternal life. Hence the Divine Plan was that He should die as the Redeemer of Adam and his race, that thus He might have the just, the legal right to lift out of sin and degradation and death all of mankind who would fall in line with the gracious arrangements of the Divine purpose which center in Christ. It was in fulfillment of this feature of the Divine Plan that our Lord laid down the earthly Kingdom, the earthly rights, all that He had, as man's ransom price (Matthew 13:44). "Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Timothy 2:6).
"Every Knee Shall Bow."
We now have Messiah exalted and in His possession the authority justly, legally acquired, whereby He may bless all the families of the earth-- all the children of Adam, by restoring to the willing and obedient "that which was lost"--earthly perfection and dominion. Where will He begin His blessing work? All the prophecies implied that Messiah would begin His work with Israel and that it should progress through Israel to all nations. But the prophecies did not even hint at the fact that before giving the "restitution" blessing to Israel, under the New (Law) Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31, Messiah would first make use of His "restitution" authority for the gathering of a special class of people, "a holy nation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood." This, as the Apostle tells us, was kept a "Mystery," and, generally speaking, it is still a "Mystery," not only to Israel, but to the world. The gathering of the Spiritual Israelites was the first step in the new program. Those of the Jewish nation at our Lord's First Advent who were of the right attitude of heart when transferred from Moses to Christ, from natural Israel to spiritual Israel. Then, as we have seen, from the time of Cornelius onward, the Gospel message has been free to all who have the believing heart and hearing ear to take it. These, as a whole, as our Lord intimated, are but a "little flock." His words were, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32.)
The Kingdom, the life eternal, etc., which the Lord has to give away, are those of Adam, which were lost through his disobedience and re-purchased by our Lord at Calvary. These he gives to His followers, the "little flock," but not to keep. Earthly restitution blessings are theirs to sacrifice only. Whoever will not accept them on these terms cannot be Jesus' disciples. Such are the terms of the heavenly or high calling, bestowed upon His followers. They must take up their cross and follow Him in the sacrifice of earthly life and earthly restitution rights, if they would share with Him the glory and honor that will be His in His exalted station.
"The World to come" merely signifies the epoch to come, the epoch wherein dwelleth righteousness, where righteousness will be in the ascendant, and where sin will be absolutely under the control of the great Redeemer, who then will be the King of glory, ruling, reigning, enlightening, blessing, uplifting, restituting, purging, purifying and bringing to perfection so many of Adam's race as will heartily respond to the rules of His Kingdom. All others will be destroyed as brute beasts.--2 Pet. 2:12.
[OV252]
The Two Salvations
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."-- John 3:16.
"Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word; that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."-- Ephesians 5:25-27.
SOME APPLY the first text only and think of the Divine Program as being merely an endeavor to rescue mankind from sin and death to righteousness and eternal life in the present time. Such as hold this view are much confused, because it must be acknowledged that comparatively little has been done, or is now being done, for man's uplift. After six thousand years it is still true that "The whole world lieth in the Wicked One;" "Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the heathen." In order to have any confidence at all in this theory, those who hold it are obliged to greatly lower their standards. They are forced to hope that God will admit millions of unfit people, crude, rude, ignorant and wicked to eternal life and happiness, or perchance provide for them Purgatorial experiences, to make them fit, righteous and acceptable for life eternal. As a whole, Christian people are greatly bewildered. The tendency of their bewilderment is toward doubt, skepticism, atheism.
The other view, briefly stated, is that God never intended the salvation of the world, but merely the salvation of the Church, "elect according to the fore-knowledge of God through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the Truth." Those who hold this theory have great confusion also, because it seems incomprehensible that God would make no provision for "thousands of millions" of Adam's race, but arrange for them to be born in sin, shapen in iniquity, and to go down to the tomb (or worse) without a clear knowledge of God and His Purposes and Will respecting them.
As we have already frequently set forth, both of the described theories are erroneous. The Scriptures set forth two salvations, entirely separate and distinct. They are different as respects time, in that the one "salvation began to be spoken by our Lord" at His First Advent, and began to be applicable to His Church at Pentecost, and will wholly cease at His Second Coming in the end of this Age. The other salvation neither applied before our Lord's First Advent nor during this Gospel Age, but will apply to all mankind, except the Church, during the Millennium--the thousand years of the reign of Christ and the Church, specially designed for the blessing of the world and its uplifting out of sin and death conditions.
These two salvations are distinctly different as to kind, as well as respects their plan of operation. The salvation of the Church during this Gospel age --since Pentecost--means not only a deliverance from sin and death conditions to eternal life, but provides that the eternal life will be on the heavenly or spiritual plane and not on the [OV253] earthly or human plane of existence. Thus the Apostle declares that our "inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled and fadeth not away and is reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." (1 Peter 1:4,5.) Our Lord also told that in the resurrection we shall be like unto the angels. The Apostle also declares that at that time we shall be partakers of the divine nature and like our Lord and Redeemer.
The world's salvation which will follow will be wholly different from this. It will not include a change from earthly to spirit nature. It will mean a rescue from sin and death to the earthly perfection of the original man, in the image and likeness of his Creator, and surrounded by every necessary blessing for his comfort. Human perfection and the Eden home were lost through disobedience to God. The Divine arrangement is that the merit of our Lord's obedience unto death, when ultimately applied for mankind, shall fully cancel the death sentence upon him. More and better than this, God has promised that the same Sin-Offering shall seal a New Covenant between himself and mankind. The blessings of that New Covenant arrangement will then immediately begin. The great Redeemer will thenceforth be the great Mediator of that New Covenant. The whole world of mankind will be fully under His supervision and government for their blessing, their correction in righteousness, their uplifting out of sin and death conditions--back, back, back to all that was lost in Eden. All of this was the original design of the Great Creator. All of this will be outworked through the Great Redeemer. All of this was secured or suretied by His death, finished at Calvary.-- Heb. 7:22.
St. Peter, pointing down to that glorious time of the world's blessing, calls it "times of refreshing and times of restitution." He tells us that all the holy prophets described the blessings of those restitution times--the thousand years, the Millennium. (Acts 3:19-21.) When once we get the eyes of our understanding opened, we find the Apostle's words thoroughly corroborated by the Divine records, which describe the wonderful blessings that are to come when the earth shall yield her increase. Then Paradise Lost shall be Paradise Regained. Then God will make his earthly footstool glorious. Then the blessing of the Lord shall make rich and He will add no sorrow therewith. Then streams shall break forth in the desert and the wilderness and solitary places shall be glad. But most glorious will be the change in humanity. The Lord promises to turn to the people a "pure message"--instead of the contradiction of creeds of heathenism and Churchianity. He promises that Satan shall be bound for that thousand years, that he may deceive the nations no more. He promises that then all the "blinded eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped."-- Isaiah 35:5; 2 Cor. 4:4.
Two Salvations--One Savior.
Both of these salvations, according to the Bible, result from the death of Jesus our Redeemer, who died in obedience to the Divine will, "Died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." (1 Peter 3:18.) The Scriptures clearly show not only the two salvations, but also two parts of the Redeemer's work, distinctly separating His work for the Church from His work for the world. In His death there was a Divine general provision for the sins of the whole world and a special provision for the sins of the Church. The two thoughts are frequently brought out in the Scriptures. One text distinctly declares, "He is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins (the Church's sins), and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." His death constituted the satisfaction price. The Redeemer applied that merit for the Church's sins, "for us," long ago, eighteen centuries before we were born. Only when we became believers and entered into a [OV254] Covenant of sacrifice did we obtain our share in the merit of that great sacrifice. The world has not yet received its share of that promised blessing, but the operation of the Divine Plan is sure and will bring it to them "in due time," as St. Paul declares. --1 Tim. 2:6.
The drawing and calling of the Church has not been along the lines of human perfection, for all are sinners and none righteous or perfect. And many of those drawn of the Lord were by nature much more fallen and depraved than some who give no evidence of the work of grace in their hearts. The Lord's calling and drawing seem to be along the lines of justice, love of righteousness, faith, humility and obedience. These qualities will all belong to the perfect man. But all have lost them in varying degrees. Such as respond to the Lord's call now are accepted as being in the right heart-attitude which, if they had perfect bodies, would constitute them perfect men. In other words, they have qualities of heart which, if brought to a knowledge of the Truth, would prove some of them to be pure in heart and such as the Lord would desire should have eternal life and all of His favors.
Terms of Salvation Differ.
Of course, these different salvations imply different terms or conditions. God's requirement of Adam, that he might continue to live forever and everlastingly enjoy Divine favor, his Eden Home, etc., was obedience to reasonable, just requirements. It was his violation of the Divine Law that brought upon him the sentence of death--"Dying thou shalt die"--with all that this has implied to him and his posterity of mental, moral and physical decline, weakness, death. The requirement of God for the world of mankind during the Millennial Age will simply be--obedience to God's just, reasonable regulations, laws. Whoever then will render obedience may with proportionate rapidity go up on the highway of holiness toward perfection at its end. Whoever refuses obedience to the extent of his ability will fail to make progress and ultimately die the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption and no resurrection.
Such obedience as will be required of mankind in the great Mediator's Kingdom will include their co-operation in the resistance of their own fallen weaknesses. It will include the exercise of patience and kindness towards their fellow-creatures, fellow-sufferers. The Divine Law of love to God with all the heart, mind, soul, strength, and for the neighbor as for one's self, they must learn fully. As they will realize their own blemishes and strive to overcome them and ask, not the Father, but the Mediator, for forgiveness, they will be obliged to follow the Divine rule of exercising towards others similar mercy and forgiveness to that which they desire for themselves.
The conditions governing the salvation of the Church are wholly different from those which will appertain to the world. The Church is called out of the world under a Divine invitation to suffer with Christ in the present life and during this Gospel Age and then to reign with Christ during the Millennial Age, participating in His Mediatorial Kingdom for the blessing, uplifting, salvation of the world. It is not in vain, therefore, that our Lord and the Apostles, in setting forth the call of the Church, during this Age, specified particularly and frequently the necessity for all who would share in this salvation to participate with the Redeemer in His sacrificing, in "His death," and consequently participate in "His resurrection" and in His reign of glory. Hark to the words, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life;" "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne."
[OV255]
The Great White Throne: Day of
Judgment Misunderstood
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
THE FALSE view of the Day of Judgment began to be introduced in the Second Century and human fear and superstition continually made it worse and worse. The Bible, on the contrary, represented it as a period of glory and blessing. The Psalmist's declaration, calling upon humanity and all creation to rejoice because the Lord would come to judge the earth in righteousness and the poor with equity (Psalm 98:9), is worthy of note.
A Blessed Judgment Day.
According to the Bible, the world's Judgment Day will be the world's time of opportunity for coming to a knowledge of God and then being tried, tested, or judged, as to their willingness to serve and obey God and His righteous government. Those found heartily obedient will be granted everlasting life with every joy and blessing appropriate to man in his perfection. Those rebellious to the light of the righteousness of Jehovah will be destroyed in the Second Death without hope of any future whatever.
That will be the time when all the heathen will have their trial, after they shall all be brought by Messiah's Kingdom to a clear knowledge of the Truth. That will be the time when the great masses of Christendom will for the first time hear of the real character of God and His requirements of them. Although some of them may have been in churches occasionally and may have seen Bibles occasionally, nevertheless the eyes of their understanding were darkened. They saw not; they heard not; they understood not. The god of this world blinded them. (2 Corinthians 4:4.)
That Judgment Day, the thousand years of Messiah's Kingdom, will not only bind Satan, but chase away with the glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness all the darkness, superstition and error of the world.
The Church will not be judged during that thousand-year Judgment Day, because her trial, her judgment, takes place now--during this Gospel Age. The saintly few who will gain the great prize of joint-heirship with the Redeemer, Messiah, will be His Queen and sit with Him in the Great White Throne of Judgment mentioned in the text; as the Apostle declares, "Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2; Psa. 45:9.)
Former Views Were Erroneous.
Our former and very unreasonable view was that man, "born in sin, shapen in iniquity," depraved in all of his appetites, would be condemned of God in the Judgment Day on account of this heredity and environment, for which he is not responsible. The theory was that the heathen also would be damned in that Judgment Day, because they did not know and did not accept "the only name given under heaven." The theory was also that the masses of civilized society would in that Judgment Day be damned because they did not live perfectly, notwithstanding their heredity.
[OV256]
Now we see that the death sentence was upon Adam and all of his race, who were in his loins when he sinned. We see that they could not be put on trial a second time until released from the first sentence. We see that their release will be at the Second Coming of Messiah in the glory of His Kingdom, when He shall cause the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth and open all the blinded eyes. Then, because of having satisfied the claims of Justice against the race, the Great Redeemer, as the Mediator of the New Covenant, will grant the world of mankind another judgment or trial--additional to the one given to Adam, in which they all failed and from the penalty of which failure Jesus redeemed them.
True, the measure of light and knowledge now enjoyed and wilfully sinned against will work as a corresponding degradation of character; all downward steps will need to be retraced.
"The Great White Throne."
Symbolically, the whiteness of the throne indicates the purity of the justice and judgment which will be meted out by the Great Redeemer as the Messiah-King. The heavens and earth which will flee away from the presence of that throne are not the literal, but the symbolical. The ecclesiastical heavens and the social earth of the present time will not stand in the presence of that August Tribunal. The people will not be judged nationally nor by parliaments and systems in society, but individually. The judgment or trial will not merely test those living at the time of the establishment of the Kingdom, but will include all the dead.
The books of the Bible will then all be opened--understood. All will then see that the Golden Rules laid down by inspiration through Moses and the Prophets, Jesus and His Apostles, are the very ones which God will require of men in the future and which Messiah will then enable the willing and obedient to comply with by assisting them up out of their sin and degradation. The judgment of that time, the test, will not be of faith, for knowledge will be universal and all the darkness and obscurity created by ignorance and superstition will have passed away. The test at that time will be of works, whereas the tests of the Church at the present time are of faith.
Another Book of Life Opened.
Pastor Russell declared that the Lamb's Book of Life alone is open now and only those called to be members of the Bride class and who accept the call are written therein. But in the great day of the world's trial or Judgment, another book of life will be opened. A record will be made of all who, by obedience, show themselves worthy of everlasting life on the human plane, and, if faithful, they will eventually be accepted of the Father to life eternal. All the incorrigible, all those who after the most favorable opportunities, will not give their hearts to the Lord and be obedient to the laws of the Messianic Kingdom "shall be destroyed from amongst the people."--Acts 3:19-21.
GOD IN THE HOME
"As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."--Joshua 24:15. DO NOT understand us to teach that the world's opportunity for life everlasting or death everlasting is now. "God hath appointed a Day in which he will judge the world," grant the world a judgment or trial or test. That great Day is future. It is the Day of Christ, a thousand years long. It will be a glorious opportunity! Present right doing and right thinking, or wrong doing and wrong thinking will have much to do with the condition of every man and woman at that time. He or she will enter upon that Day of blessing and [OV257] opportunity either from a higher or a lower standpoint, proportionately as he or she has acted wisely and conscientiously at the present time.
But nothing that the world can do can interfere with God's great proposition, that a full opportunity for life or death eternal shall then come to every member of the race, because Christ died for the ungodly. The only class to whom present life means life or death eternal is the Church. And by the Church we mean, not church attendants, nor outward professors, but those who have entered into a covenant with God through Christ and who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasting of the good Word of God and the powers of the Age to come. If these should fall away, the Apostle forewarns us, it would be impossible to renew them again unto repentance. And there will be no hope for them with the world in the world's trial Day because they already have enjoyed their share of the merit of Christ's death.
A Great Privilege.
When, therefore, we speak of God and the home, we have in mind a family composed exclusively of saints who daily and hourly are following their great Redeemer's footsteps in self-denial, in sacrifice, in the narrow way which leads to glory, honor and immortality and association with the Redeemer in His glorious Kingdom which is to bless the world for a thousand years.
We believe the Bible teaches that there are many of the world who are reverential, kind and just to a large degree, who are not saints, who have not presented their bodies living sacrifices to God, who have not been begotten of His Holy Spirit, and not, therefore, members of that "little flock to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the Kingdom"--in joint-heirship with their Redeemer and Head. To this latter class our Master evidently referred when He said to His followers, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
To live righteously, soberly and godly in this present world to the extent of one's ability is what every one should do--no less. To live a life of sacrifice--to lay down our lives for the brethren, for the truth, in the service of the Lord, is another matter, which justice does not require, and which the Bible nowhere enjoins upon mankind. It is pointed out as a privilege to those who desire it, and glory, honor and immortality on the spirit plane is the reward attached to this invitation or High Calling. It is the selection of this special class of consecrated ones that is the particular order in the Divine program at the present time, because the faithful, the Elect, the "overcomers" of this class are to be the associates of the Redeemer in His great work of uplifting the world and restoring all the willing and obedient to human perfection, to an earthly Eden home, everlasting, in which God's will shall "be done on earth as it is done in heaven."
An Inundation of Unbelief.
In our day the shackles of ignorance and superstition are breaking. Men, women and children are beginning to think for themselves. They no longer believe the fairy tales of childhood. The dreadful hobgoblins and nightmares of the Dark Ages respecting purgatory and eternal torture are doubted by all, and by the great mass totally disbelieved. What have they now to attach them to the Almighty, since they have never been taught the love of God, the lengths and breadths and heights and depths passing all human understanding? This is the world's great need--to know God as He really is, a Father, a Friend, a God of love! And to thus know Him the people need to be taught how seriously they were mistaught in the past along the lines of hell and purgatory.
How could they ever truly love and worship a God of injustice and of hate [OV258] --one inferior to themselves--one who knew, foreordained and prepared for their torture before they were born. They must see that these things taught by the creeds of the Dark Ages are wholly at variance with the Bible, else they will never come back to the Bible nor be able to see its teachings in their true light. They must be taught that the sin and death, sorrow and trouble all around us are the wage or penalty of Father Adam's disobedience. They must learn that God purposes a blessing and uplifting which will be as world-wide as the curse.
Many religious leaders to-day deny that there is a personal God and ascribe everything to--a great Nothing, which they designate Nature-god. Is it surprising, in view of the fact that these teachings are being promulgated in the universities, colleges and theological seminaries, in the high schools and even to some extent in the common schools--is it any wonder that the rising generation is losing its God?
Awakened Parental Responsibility.
It is high time that parents realize the true situation--it is almost too late now. The seeds of unbelief already sown in the minds of the rising generation are being watered continually and are growing. All who love their families, all who love mankind in general, should awaken to the fact that a world that has lost its God must of necessity be an unhappy world. Platonic philosophy may serve the purposes of the few, but surely cannot serve the masses of our race. A godless world will ere long mean a discontented world, an unhappy world, and by and by, a world of anarchy and strife. This is what our world-wide education is leading to. Few of our race can stand an education which recognizes no God, no revelation of Him, no responsibility to Him, and no hope of a future life which will be effected by the conduct of the present.
OH! TO BE READY
OH! to be ready when death shall come,
Oh! to be ready to hasten home!
No earthward clinging, no lingering gaze,
No strife at parting, no sore amaze;
No chains to sever that earth hath twined,
No spell to loosen that love would bind.
No flitting shadows to dim the light
Of the angel-pinions winged for flight,
No cloud-like phantoms to fling a gloom
'Twixt heaven's bright portals and earth's dark tomb,
But sweetly, gently, to pass away
From the world's dim twilight into day.
To list the music of angel lyres,
To catch the rapture of seraph fires,
To lean in trust on the risen One,
Till borne away to a fadeless throne;
Oh! to be ready when death shall come,
Oh! to be ready to hasten home!
[OV259]
A FAMINE IN THE LAND
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
"I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord."--Amos 8:11. TO-DAY this prophecy is fulfilled in our midst! Notwithstanding the fact that during the past century Bibles have been printed and circulated among the people by the million, and notwithstanding the fact that education has become general so that rich and poor, old and young, have the ability to read God's Word, nevertheless, we are in the midst of the very famine specified by the Prophet. It seems almost incredible that we should be famishing now with Bibles in our homes, when our saintly forefathers did not famish, though education was limited.
The secret lies in the fact that increasing intelligence on every hand has awakened our reasoning faculties along religious lines, and the result is the gnawing of hunger in our hearts. Our hearts and our flesh cry out for a living and a true God--a God greater than ourselves--more just, more powerful, more loving. Feeling our own impotency, we more than ever feel our need of the Friend above all others with a love that sticketh closer than a brother's.
Consequently we cannot find the rest and refreshment and comfort from the Scriptures which our forefathers derived. Consequently the young men and the purest of heart in the world are repelled by the religion of the past as represented in the creeds of all denominations. They are hungry for the Truth. They are thirsty for the refreshment which they need. Intellectually many are looking, wandering, from sea to sea, desiring the bread of life and the water of life. Scanning the creeds of all denominations, they find them practically alike as respects theories of eternal reprobation and damnation for all except the Elect, the saints. They are faint for lack of spiritual food and drink. They even look to the heathen and examine the Theosophy of India, the Buddhism of Japan and the Confucianism of China, seeking for some satisfying portion of Truth.
These are in some respects like the Prodigal Son--far from home. They perceive the swinish content with the husks of business, money, pleasure and politics, but their spiritual longings cannot be satisfied with the husks which the swine eat. They are thought peculiar because of their interest in spiritual things. They are misunderstood by their best earthly friends. They must learn that in their wanderings along the highways of science and world-religion they will never get satisfaction. There is a famine in every denomination, in every part of the world. No one thinks of looking to the Bible for refreshment and strength. The Higher Critics of all denominations have branded it unreliable. The professors in all the great colleges are reprobating the Bible and openly laugh at the thought of finding there either bread for the hungry or water for the thirsty.
This is the very picture given in our context. "They shall wander from sea to sea, from the North even to the East; they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst."--Amos 8:12,13.
The Bread of Life and Water of Life.
These hungry hearts must learn that there is only the one satisfying portion under the Sun--the living and true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent to be the Bread of Life for the world, and the message of grace from His lips to be the Water of Life. It is ours to call the attention of this Truth-hungry class to the Great Teacher who declared: "My flesh is [OV260] food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed; except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." (John 6:55,53.) But scarcely will the intelligent of our day hearken to these words, so prejudiced are their minds by the fallacies which becloud their understanding. They see not, neither do they understand the goodness of God.
Why is this? Why are these Bibles in millions of homes, Catholic and Protestant, neglected? Because the people know not that the Bread of Life and the Water of Life which they seek are hidden therein. Why is this? We answer that conditions were very much the same in Israel at the time of our Lord's first Advent. The explanation He then gave is applicable now. He said: "Ye do make void the Law of God through your traditions"--"the traditions of the ancients."--Mark 7:13; 1 Peter 1:18.
So now, the traditions handed down from our forefathers really make void, meaningless, ungracious, the message of God's Wisdom and Love sent to us through the Lord, the Apostles and the Prophets. Those who still hold tenaciously to the creeds of the past are thoroughly blinded now to the true teachings of God's Word, while, alas, the majority of the independent thinkers, in rejecting the dogmas of the past, have rejected the Bible also, believing that the teachings of the creeds truthfully represent God's Word. These are wandering hither and thither, hungering and thirsting, looking for the Bread of Life and Water of Life, and finding it nowhere, because they seek not where alone it is to be found.
"Ho, Every One That Thirsteth, Come
Ye."
Ho! Ye all that hunger for Truth Come ye. There is an abundance for us all in our Heavenly Father's wonderful provision--in the Bible. Deserting all the creeds and traditions of men, let us gather at our Heavenly Father's Board as His Family, as His Children. Let us prove the truthfulness of His declaration that "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that reverence Him." Let us seek and obtain the satisfying portion. Let us satisfy our longings at the table of Divine provision. Mark the Lord's words, and consider how truthful they are, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."--Matthew 5:6.
It is this Truth-hungry class that we address. We know their heart-longings, for we had the same. We know the satisfaction they crave for we have received it and are therefore doubly glad to hand forth the Bread of Life and the Water of Life to those who desire it. There are plenty ready to serve the appetites of those who long for pleasure--ball games, society fetes, chess, travel, etc. We have not a word to say against these. It is not our thought that they are going to eternal torment; hence we do not frantically beset them, annoy them. Let them have their pleasure. Let them wait for the time to come when something may occur in their experiences which will put them into the class of the broken-hearted and contrite of spirit, and cause them to feel after God, if haply they might find Him as a satisfying portion.
In harmony with the Master's direction, it is our aim to "bind up the broken-hearted; to comfort those that mourn;" to tell them of the Oil of Joy which the Lord is willing to bestow for their spirit of heaviness and sorrow for sin. (Isaiah 61:1-3.) As the Master expressed no reproof of those engaged in any form of moral reform, even asceticism, so it is with us. We desire to oppose no one who is doing any good work, whether he follow with us in every particular or not. There are so many engaged in doing evil works, and so few engaged in doing good, that not one of the latter class can be spared from the ranks of the service of righteousness.
As the Master did not give His time to temperance reform, nor social reform, [OV261] nor political reform, but did give His time to the instruction of the people in the doctrines of the Divine Word, so let us be intent to follow His instruction in this matter, not teaching for doctrines the precepts of men, but the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever--expounding unto the people the Scriptures and assisting them to see the length and breadth of their meaning. Nevertheless, as the religious teachers of the Master's day hated Jesus and His disciples for this cause, "Because they taught the people," and persecuted them because they did not walk in the beaten paths of their day, so we may expect also to be hated without cause; so we may expect that the scribes and Pharisees and Doctors of the Law to-day will be grieved because the people are taught, because the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ is presented to the people as an incentive to love and obedience, instead of the doctrine of eternal torment.
It matters not that all the educated ministry to-day well know, and would not for a moment deny, their disbelief in the doctrine of eternal torment, if cross-questioned. Nevertheless, many of them hate us and oppose us, because we show the people the true interpretation of God's Word, and lift before the eyes of their understanding a God of Love--Just, Merciful, Righteous altogether, and fully capable both in Wisdom and Power to work out all the glorious designs which He "purposed in Himself before the foundation of the world."
1. They perceive that the teaching of the doctrines of Purgatory and eternal torment has not had a sanctifying influence upon mankind in all the sixteen centuries in which it has been preached. They fear that to deny these doctrines now would make a bad matter worse. They fear that if the Gospel of the Love of God and of the Bible--that it does not teach eternal torment for any--were made generally known, the effect upon the world would be to increase its wickedness, to make life and property less secure than now and to fill the world still more than now with blasphemies.
2. They fear also that a certain amount of discredit would come to themselves because, knowing that the Bible does not teach eternal torment, according to the Hebrew and Greek original, they secreted the knowledge from the people. They fear that this would forever discredit them with their hearers. Hence they still outwardly lend their influence to the doctrine of eternal torture, which they do not believe, and feel angry towards us because we teach the people the Truth upon the subject, which they know will bring to them hundreds of questions difficult to answer or dodge.
We ask you, dear readers, Were you constrained to become children of God and to render to the Lord the homage and the obedience of your lives through fear or through love? We are not asking you whether you never have feared; but we are asking you what brought you to the point of consecrating your life to God? Surely that was not fear.
We are aware, of course, that there is a proper, godly fear, reverence, and that the Scriptures declare it--"The fear (reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111:10.) But this is not the fear of eternal torment which tends to drive out love. How could we love or esteem or truly worship a God purposing the eternal torment of His creatures from before their creation?
We could give you many proofs of the power of love over the human heart, in contrast with the ungodly fear of the error. God says to us in so many words, "Their fear toward Me is not of Me, but is taught by the precepts of men." As an illustration: At a Bible Students' Convention not long ago in Ohio, a well dressed gentleman in attendance told us of how his heart had been touched with our presentation of the "Love Divine, all love excelling."
[OV262]
He said, "For years I have been a member of the Presbyterian Church without being really a Christian at all. Occasionally I went on sprees, sometimes I gambled and drank, etc. Not until I received a knowledge of the true character of God as set forth in 'Studies in the Scriptures' did my heart ever come to the proper attitude of surrender to the Lord. Then I was glad to give Him my little all, and wished it were more." The next day, passing from the hotel to the auditorium to a question meeting, this gentleman put a slip of paper in our hand, which we supposed was a question. On the platform we drew it forth as one of the questions to be answered, and, to our astonishment, found it was a check for $1,000. The man had not been asked for one cent; but the Love of God had captivated his heart and gotten control--not only of it, but of his pocket-book and all. He wished to show the Lord his appreciation of the Love Divine, the length and breadth and height and depth of which he now comprehended as never before.
Another case: We met with a Convention of Bible Students in Chattanooga some years ago. A gentleman attended who introduced himself, saying that he was from Mississippi, and that he had become deeply interested in our presentations of the harmony of the Word of God. He said in substance: "I will not attempt to tell you how wicked a man I was before I got your literature. My dear wife here, an earnest Methodist, said to me, 'John, John, you will surely go to hell!' I replied to her: 'Mary, I know it! I know it! And, Mary, I am determined that I well deserve all that I get. I am not going to hell for nothing.' One of your papers came to my desk in my store. I said that this was different from anything that I ever understood respecting the teachings of the Bible. It seems more Godlike and more rational. I sent to you for various Bible Students' Helps. The result is that the Love of God has constrained me, has conquered me, in a way that the doctrines of devilish torments could not influence me. Now I see the true teaching of God's Word. I can honor Him and worship Him and take pleasure in laying down my life in His service. I have made a full consecration of everything. For a time I sent you a $50 check every month; but that was in the nature of conscience-money, because the most profitable feature of my store trade was the sale of liquor to the Mississippi negroes. Those checks stopped, because, as the grace of God more and more filled and overflowed my heart, it brought me to see that I must love my neighbor as myself, and do injury to none; and now my whole life is devoted to the service of God and my fellow-men."
Three murderers confined in the Columbus, Ohio, Penitentiary, had from childhood been trained in the doctrines of eternal torment in different churches and yet committed murder. Those men, under God's providence, received some of our literature --"Studies in the Scriptures"--and were cut to the heart when they learned of the Love of God, as expressed in the Divine Plan of the Ages. To be brief: A knowledge of the Love of God made such a change in the hearts and lives of those three murderers that the prison-keepers took knowledge of them that they had "been with Jesus and had learned of Him." By and by they were paroled --and to-day two of them are preaching the Gospel of the Love of God, seeking to bring their fellow-men out of the condition of darkness and sin into the glorious sunlight of Divine Love and Truth. Having tried the Gospel of fear and damnation and torture for sixteen centuries; having seen that under this teaching there is more blasphemy and general wickedness than even in the heathen world, is it not due time to give the True Bread and Water of Life to the hungry and thirsty ones who, for lack of it, are searching the earth and many of them falling into Higher Criticism, infidelity and other delusions peculiar to our day?
[OV263]
Pains of Hell Explained to Us
By C. T. Russell, Pastor of
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
THE DISCOURSES of Pastor Russell, published weekly in several hundred newspapers throughout America and Europe, are causing a great awakening in the Christian world and creating a new interest in true Bible study everywhere. Recently he gave a notable address before an assembly of Bible Students on the text: "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me."-- Psalm 116:3.
Opening his address, the Pastor apologized for the selection of such a text. He would much prefer to talk along the lines of Christian character-building, and the necessity of growing in grace and love, and thus becoming more and more copies of God's dear Son. His apology was that his text, a sample of many other Bible statements, is so grievously misunderstood as to stand in the way of Christian progress. In conjunction with other Scriptures, it was woven into terrible theories during the Dark Ages. Those theories became imbedded in the various creeds of the time, and so obstructed the channels of thought that the grace, truth and beauty of the Bible were hidden. Many noble hearts, he claimed, are famishing for lack of the refreshment of God's Truth by reason of the fossilized errors which block the way.
"Perish for Lack of Knowledge."
The Scriptures foretell conditions exactly as they are today. They declare that there shall be "a famine in the land--not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Word of the Lord." (Amos 8:11). Again the Scriptures declare, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6.) It is certainly true that there are as many honest-hearted, conscientious, well-meaning people in the world today as have ever lived--perhaps more. Yet these well-meaning people are perishing, famishing, for lack of spiritual nourishment. True, there are some who claim to be well-nourished and to find in the popular pulpits of the land all the spiritual refreshment and strength they need.
But these are as nothing compared with the millions who give a different testimony. I am glad that those who attend worship regularly, and are well-nourished and well satisfied, have what they desire, at the mouth of a hundred thousand preachers. I am reaching out after "the lost sheep of the House of Israel," through the secular press. They tell me that I am reaching millions of the unchurched every week. My readers are the discontented, the unsatisfied, perishing for lack of knowledge, hungering and thirsting after the right ways of God--the real teachings of the Bible.
My heart goes out to those as the heart of Jesus went out to the same class, nearly nineteen centuries ago. We read, "He had compassion on the multitude, for He beheld that they were like sheep having no shepherd." I am seeking, as an under shepherd, to bring these hungering, thirsting, perishing sheep to the true "Shepherd and Bishop of souls"--the Lord Jesus.
I am seeking to remove from their minds the prejudice and various obstructions which have hindered the flow of God's grace and truth to their hearts. I am seeking in the Master's [OV264] name to present to them the Bread of Life, the Water of Life. I am not seeking to build up another denomination.
Results show a certain measure of success already attained. I am receiving more than five thousand letters a week from hungry sheep and others, who, so far as denominational Christian systems are concerned, are homeless. Everywhere--all over the world --these, instead of forming a new denomination, are associating themselves with Bible classes for the study of God's Word. I am simply doing all in my power to help them out of darkness into God's marvelous light-- out of misunderstandings of the Bible into a right appreciation of it; out of ignorance into a knowledge of God; out of ignorance of the Savior and His work into a true knowledge of Him and His glorious Kingdom, which is yet to bless all of the families of the earth.
It may be interesting to know that while I am advertised by the newspaper syndicate as the Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation of independent Christians, and of a similar congregation of London Tabernacle, and of the congregation of Washington Temple, I have additionally been chosen pastor of more than one hundred and fifty of these classes of Bible students, to which I have already referred. They elected me pastor without any suggestion or solicitation on my part. In so doing, I understand them to signify that they recognize the Lord Jesus as the great divinely appointed Shepherd of the true sheep, and that they desire me to serve them in any way that I can as an under-shepherd.
Through the columns of The Watch Tower I visit these classes regularly twice a month, doing a pastoral work to the best of my ability--leading them to the fountain of grace and truth and breaking for them the living bread, the word of God. Additionally, they have my weekly sermon and a weekly treatise on the International Sunday School Lessons.
The True-Hearted Should Rejoice.
One would suppose that all of the one hundred thousand ministers and all their flocks would rejoice to know that the unchurched, straying sheep are being reached with a message of God's love and mercy which is appealing to their hearts and working a transformation in their lives. Many do rejoice, but alas! a few are jealous, as were some of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day. Of these we read; "They were grieved that He taught the people"--the people whom they could not reach, the sheep that were straying and famishing.
As those jealous scribes and Pharisees antagonized Jesus and the Apostles, because their hearts were out of harmony with the good tidings, so it is to-day with some. Unable to uphold the doctrines which have driven away so many of the intelligent of their flocks, famished for truth, a few ministers are angry with us. True to the Master's prophecy, these seek to say all manner of evil falsely against us, for His sake, for the truth's sake. Yet, in spite of their unchristian course, the poor, straying sheep are hearing and recognizing the voice divine, are coming back to the word of God, are being sanctified by the word of truth.
I Proceed With My Text.
If this were the only text mistranslated and misunderstood, the ordinary reader would doubtless pass it by, saying: "I do not understand it. Probably it is a figure of speech." But this text is merely a combination of mistranslations, all of which are connected with an eternal torment system of doctrines invented during the Dark Ages. It is this combined system which has such power over men's minds. This power of error, this power of fear, is turning intelligent minds away from the Bible. Hence it is our duty to break down the false doctrines, and to clear away the obstacles which hinder the flow of truth to the minds and [OV265] hearts of the people of God--the straying sheep. Nor are these straying sheep all, or chiefly, the ignorant. They include many of the ablest minds and truest hearts in the world-- minds and hearts too true and too logical to believe palpable falsehoods, or to profess what they do not believe.
The Psalmist is merely telling of his severe illness, from which by the grace of God he recovered. He would have us understand that it was not merely a slight ailment. He described his emotions in the language of our text, saying: "The sorrows of death compassed me about"--that is to say, the sadness associated with the thought that he was about to die, about to leave his friends. In the poetic form of the Hebrew language, he repeated this thought, namely, "The pains of hell gat hold of me." In our modern language this would mean the pains of death, or the pains of the tomb. They were pains that indicated the approach of dissolution. Nothing in this text has the slightest reference to anything in the future life.
Our Baptist friends, in their revised translation of the Bible, have chosen for such passages as this the expression, "the underworld," instead of the word "hell." Yet even here there is danger of the average reader not catching the true thought. Far simpler and far less liable to be misunderstood, would it have been had the translators said, "The pains of the tomb." The revised version of the English Bible reads, "The pains of Sheol."
Why Not the Whole Truth?
Every learned minister knows that the Hebrew word Sheol really means the grave, the pit, the state of death. Why do they hesitate to tell the people the whole truth on this subject? Why do they translate it part of the time "the grave," and at other times "the underworld?" Why do they use the translation, "the grave," in one place, and "the pit" in another, and then refuse to translate the word at all in the third instance, but give the word Sheol? Was it their intention to confuse the people? What is the motive? We wish that some of these great men would explain.
The Reason for All This.
We would like to have our ministerial brethren state their reasons for pursuing a course of hiding the truth on the subject of hell. Only because they neglect to give the reasons do we feel at liberty to suggest them. It seems to me that these ministers are of two classes, and that their reasons are therefore slightly different. All of them seem to agree that it would be dangerous to tell the people that God is really a God of love, and that the doctrine of an eternity of torture is entirely unscriptural, finding no foundation whatever in the writings of the Apostles.
They fear to tell the people that these doctrines were built up during the Dark Ages by the very men who manifested so little of the spirit of God and so little knowledge of God's will respecting His people that they burned one another at the stake. They fear to tell the people that during the Dark Ages our blinded forefathers took the parables and dark sayings of Jesus as literal statements, quite contrary to the Master's intention. These they supplemented with certain crude misconceptions of the symbolisms of the Revelation. From the combinations they made scarecrow doctrines, blasphemous in the extreme, which never produced saints, but which led men astray into thinking that they were copying God in the deviltry which they accomplished one toward another.
The fear now seems to be lest the public should at once perceive that the creeds of Christendom, while containing much good, are cankered, wormy and vitiated by those doctrines of demons. Why should they fear to tell the people the truth? Perhaps it is because the religion of our day is built so largely upon man worship, system worship, creed worship, and not upon the Bible. Perhaps they fear that if [OV266] the creeds were thus discredited it would mean that the ministers of those creeds will be similarly discredited. Perhaps they fear that the people would never again have confidence in their teachings, and that thus all the various party walls of Christendom which for so long a time have divided the sheep would fall. We cannot definitely know of their reasons, because they do not tell us; we can only surmise what they are.
Others, very worldly-wise, have become Higher Critics, and do not believe in the Bible at all. They are really agnostics. But they do not desire to advertise their lack of faith, lest it should detract from their esteem among men. They prefer to pose as believers, and to hope that the time will come when all the wealthy and intelligent will become unbelievers also. Then they will declare, "We have not been believers for many years, but we kept the matter secret, fearing to be misunderstood as opponents of the best interests of society."
All the while, this latter class constitutes the greatest menace in the world to law and order, and are the best agents Satan has in making void the word of God and destroying faith therein. Robert Ingersoll's methods of antagonizing the Bible were far less successful than the methods of modern higher critics and evolutionists.
Fear to Tell the Truth.
All who oppose the telling to the public of the plain truth respecting hell seem to have one common ground of objection. They say, "With all the fear of hell that has been preached for centuries, see how wicked the world is and how little human life is worth! See how every law of both God and man for the protection of life, purity and property is endangered! Note that if it were not for our telegraphs, telephones and immense police forces of to-day, nobody would be safe, so much more wicked does the world appear to have become within the past fifty years! If the fear of eternal torment and purgatory were lifted from the minds of mankind, would it not make the dangers tenfold greater than they are now? Would it not speedily be necessary to double our police force, if the masses lost their belief in a place of eternal torture?"
This is lame reasoning, it seems to us. It confesses in one breath that in spite of all the false teachings of centuries wickedness has been growing. Would it not be wise to inquire to what extent the false doctrines, the misinterpretations and mistranslations of the Bible have been responsible for the increase in wickedness? Are men wiser than God? Is it possible for man to invent some monstrous, unthinkable delusion which will have a greater power with men than the plain, simple message of God's love?
But if we were sure that by blaspheming God's holy name, and by playing upon the ignorance and superstition of the masses we could make the wicked preserve peace, would it be wise to do so? Could God's blessing be expected upon such a course? Would it not be wiser for us, as the people of God, to have faith in Him, and to trust that, while we faithfully present the truth, Divine Providence will oversee and overrule its effect, and will influence for good?
Experience proves that theirs is not the proper thought. When we go to the records of the various prisons, penitentiaries, etc., we find that nearly all the worst criminals have been taught the doctrine of eternal torment. Many of them confess full faith in it. On the other hand, many infidels-- once violent opposers of God and of the Bible and Christianity--after hearing of the love of God, have thoroughly melted, and with tears in their eyes have become loyal soldiers of the cross.
We heard of an interesting case recently. A colored man, in prison for crime, somehow came in touch there with my sermons, and then with my books on Bible study. He became a thorough Bible student, and a master at handling the word of God. His fellow-prisoners [OV267] came gladly to hear this colored man preach the divine plan of the ages from God's word, while they cared not at all to attend the chapel services addressed by the ordinary chaplain.
In the "wonderful words of life," started by the Master's lips, and handed down through His apostles, there is a sweetness, beauty and power that cannot be associated with the doctrines of demons, which became attached to the message during the Dark Ages. The message of life everlasting through the Redeemer and by obedience to Him, has its offset, or alternative, in death everlasting to those who refuse to obey after full enlightenment. Eternal life is the gift of God, tendered to all the willing and obedient, through the Messiah. All rebels will be destroyed in the Second Death. (Acts 3:23.) Their punishment will not be everlasting torment, but "everlasting destruction"--a destruction from which they will never be recovered, most surely will never be resurrected.
AMEN, AMEN
I CANNOT say,
Beneath the pressure of life's cares today,
I joy in these;
But I can say
That I would rather walk this rugged way,
If Him it please.
I cannot feel
That all is well when dark'ning clouds conceal
The shining sun;
But then I know
God lives and loves; and say, since it is so,
"Thy will be done."
I cannot speak
In happy tones; the tear-drops on my cheek
Show I am sad;
But I can speak
Of grace to suffer with submission meek,
Until made glad.
I do not see
Why God should e'en permit some things to be,
When He is love;
But I can see,
Though often dimly, through the mystery,
His hand above.
I may not try
To keep the hot tears back; but hush that sigh,
"It might have been;"
And try to still
Each rising murmur, and to God's sweet will
Respond--"AMEN."
[OV268]
THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
By C. T. Russell, Pastor of
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon...to the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty."-- Revelation 16:16,14. ARMAGEDDON is a Hebrew word signifying the Hill of Megiddo, or the Mount of Destruction. Megiddo occupied a very marked position on the southern edge of the Plain of Esdraelon, and commanded an important pass into the hill country. This locality was the great battle-ground of Palestine, on which were fought many of the famous battles of Old Testament history. There Gideon and his little band alarmed and discomfited the Midianites, who destroyed one another in their flight. (Judges 7:19-23.) There King Saul was defeated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:1-6.) There King Josiah was slain by Pharaoh-Necho in one of the most disastrous conflicts in the history of Israel. (2 Chron. 35:22-25.) There also King Ahab and his wife Jezebel lived, in the city of Jezreel, where Jezebel afterwards met a horrible death.-- 2 Kings 9:30-37.
Those battles were in a sense typical. The defeat of the Midianites released the people of Israel from bondage to Midian. Thus Gideon and his band typified our Lord and the Church, who are to release mankind from their bondage to sin and death. The death of King Saul and the overthrow of his kingdom by the Philistines opened the way for the reign of David, who typified Messiah. King Ahab typified the civil government, symbolically called the "Dragon" in the Revelation. Queen Jezebel symbolically foreshadowed the great harlot, Babylon, and as such she is mentioned by name. "Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants."-- Rev. 2:20.
In the Scriptures, the Lord has evidently seen fit to associate the name of this famous battle-field Armageddon, with the great controversy between Truth and Error, right and wrong, God and Mammon, with which the Gospel Age will close and the Messianic Age be ushered in. He has purposely used highly symbolic language in the last book of the Bible, evidently with a view to hiding certain important truths until the due time for their revealment. But even in the due time, "None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." (Dan. 12:10.) None who are out of heart harmony with God shall know; but only the wise among His people--the wise virgin class of the Master's parable.--Matt. 25:1-13.
When we consider our text, therefore, we are not to expect any gathering of the people literally to the Hill of Megiddo. Rather we are to look for that which is symbolized by that mountain. Many things are being called "The Battle of Armageddon;" this phrase is being used in many ways and from many standpoints. But Christians realize that this word Armageddon specially belongs to the Bible, where it is used in a spiritual sense. If, therefore, the present is an opportune time in which to consider the Battle of Armageddon from a political standpoint, it surely is the proper time to consider the term from [OV269] its true religious point of view.
We all know that the book of Revelation is full of symbols. God seems to have placed this book last in the Bible with the intent of covering up great and important truths. That it contains valuable truths is the opinion of all Bible students. Yet so skillfully has God covered these truths that His people in times past have not been able fully and clearly to discern them. Bible students believe that this has been the Divine intention, not only because these truths were not due to be understood, but because God intends to keep certain features of His truth from the world. Mankind have always misunderstood the Divine Plan; for God in His wisdom wishes to have them misunderstand. The truths recorded in the Revelation are not for the world, nor for nominal Christians, but for the church--the body of Christ, the saintly ones--"the church of the first-borns which are written in Heaven." To these the knowledge will become "meat in due season." "The wise shall understand."
Time for the Establishment of Messiah's
Kingdom.
The Scriptures abound with allusions to Armageddon. Our Lord Jesus calls it "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matt. 24:21.) The Prophet Daniel describes it as "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time." (Dan. 12:1.) Closely in connection with this statement, Daniel declares that God's representative, "Michael, shall stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of" Israel. The word "Michael" signifies "He who is like God"--the God-like one. He will stand up for the salvation of God's people, for the rectification of error and wrong, for the establishment of right and truth, to bring to the world of mankind the great Kingdom of God, which has been preached from the days of Abraham.
The Revelation of St. John, being a book of symbols, will not be understood by the world. God himself has said that only at a certain time may even the church expect to understand. When the Prophet Daniel inquired concerning the meaning of his vision, the angel replied: "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end"--not age--the end of this Dispensation. "The earth abideth forever."-- Eccl. 1:4.
St. Peter tells us that this age is to end in a great conflagration--symbolical of the time of trouble, in which present institutions will be swallowed up (2 Pet. 3:8-13.) Elsewhere in the Scriptures, this terrible time of trouble is symbolically represented as a storm, as a whirlwind, as a fire, to consume everything. After the present order shall have passed away in the great time of trouble, God Himself will establish His kingdom--the one for which we pray, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, even as it is done in Heaven."
If, then, there is anything to indicate that we are living in the end of the gospel age, anything to indicate that the virgins are trimming their lamps, we may rest assured that the time for the Wise Virgins to enter into glory is close at hand. What a blessed message is this for "all who love His appearing!"
In the same prophecy which tells that the time of the end is the time for the wise toward God to understand, we are told that this time will be especially marked by two particular features: first, "Many shall run to and fro;" second, "Knowledge shall be increased." (Dan. 12:4.) To-day we see this prophecy fulfilled. All over the world people are running to and fro as never before. Railroads, steamboats, automobiles, electric cars--surface, subway and elevated, etc.-- carry mankind everywhere. General increase of knowledge characterizes our wonderful day. Every child ten years old is able to read. All over the world are books, newspapers, Bibles [OV270] in every home--opportunity for knowledge such as never has been known since man was on earth.
The remarkable fulfillment of this prophecy marks our day as the time of the end, in which the present dispensation is to be concluded and the new dispensation is to be ushered in-- the time when God's people will be able to understand the situation and to get ready for their change.
Principles, Not Individuals, Under
Discussion.
All Christian people credit the book of Revelation to our Lord, as St. John does. (Rev. 1:1.) Therefore we are not responsible for the symbolism used in that book. There are so many ways in which one might be misunderstood, even by good Christian people, that we naturally feel a delicacy about expressing our views. As we proceed to set forth our understanding of the symbols of the Revelation, we wish to state most emphatically that we are saying nothing whatever against godly Christians anywhere, at any time, whether in any church or out of any church. We have nothing to say respecting people. We discuss PRINCIPLES, DOCTRINES, ALWAYS; individuals, NEVER! God has not commissioned us to discuss people; it is ours to discuss His Word.
As we present our interpretation of the symbols of Revelation, we realize that the word of God conveys a very terrible arraignment of some of the great systems of our day--some that we have long reverenced and esteemed --that we have thought contained many who are godly in word and in deed. Let us, therefore, clearly distinguish between individuals and systems. We say nothing against the godly individual, but in the interpretation of the word of God what we have to say is merely in respect to these systems. Indeed, we believe that the saintly people of God are left out of these symbols, probably because the saints of God, as compared with the hundreds of millions of humanity, are merely a small company, as Jesus said: "Fear not, Little Flock."
Coming to the interpretation of the symbols of Rev. 16:13-16, we find that there are three agencies connected with the gathering of the hosts to this Battle of Armageddon. We read that out of the mouth of the Beast, out of the mouth of the False Prophet and out of the mouth of the Dragon proceeded three unclean spirits like frogs; and that these three unclean spirits, frog-like, went forth throughout the whole world to gather the whole world into this Battle of Armageddon.
It is proper, then, for us to inquire what systems are meant by these symbolic words--the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. After we shall discover what is meant by these terms we shall ask what is symbolized by the frogs that came out from their mouths.
Throughout the Bible, a beast is the symbol used to represent a government. In Daniel's prophecy the great universal empires of the earth are thus symbolized. Babylon was the lion, Medo-Persia the bear, Greece the leopard, and Rome the dragon. (Dan. 7:1-8.) The Roman Empire still persists. Christendom is a part of that great Roman Empire which began in the days of Caesar and which, according to the Scriptures, still is in the world.
Practically all Bible exegetes agree that the dragon of the Revelation represents the purely civil power, wherever it may be found. We do not understand this to mean that all the powers of the world are evil or of the devil, but that the dragon is the symbol which the Lord is pleased to use to represent civil power.
The beast of Rev. 16:13 is the same that is mentioned in Rev. 13:2, where it is described as resembling a leopard --spotted. Protestant interpreters of the Revelation agree that this symbol refers to the Papal system--not to the Pope, not to Catholic congregations, not to individual Catholics, but to the system as a whole, which has existed for centuries.
In His word, God has been pleased [OV271] to recognize the Papacy as a system, as a government. Papacy claims that the Kingdom of God, Messiah's Kingdom, was established in 799 A.D.; that it lasted a thousand years, just as the Bible declares Christ's Kingdom will last; and that it expired in 1799 A.D. They claim also that since 1799 this Kingdom of Christ (that is, the Papal system, represented in the Revelation as the beast) has been suffering violence; and that during this time the Devil has been loosed, in fulfillment of Rev. 20:7.
History records that the era closed with 1799, marked by Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, sealed and defined the limit of Papal dominion over the nations. Napoleon even took the Pope prisoner to France, where he died. This humiliating experience, Roman Catholics claim, marks the time of the loosing of Satan in fulfillment of Rev. 20:7.
We cannot agree with our Catholic brethren's interpretation of prophecy. The Bible is surely right when it declares that "the prince of this world is Satan," and that this is "the present evil world" or age. The reason why there is so much graft, false doctrine, delusion, ignorance, superstition everywhere is that Satan is the great being who is deceiving the world. According to the Scriptures, Satan is to be bound for a thousand years, that he may deceive the nations no more. (Rev. 20:3.) After the thousand years shall have been finished Satan shall be loosed for a little season to test mankind. Then he will be destroyed in the Second Death, together with all who are in harmony with him.
Bible students are only now getting their eyes open to see the lengths, breadths, heights and depths of the love of God--His wonderful provision made; first, for the church, who are to share in the Kingdom's glory; and second, for the world of mankind, who will receive the blessing of an uplift to human perfection during that thousand years. This glorious epoch is just approaching, instead of being in the past. So glorious will be the condition of humanity at the close of Messiah's Kingdom that nothing ever dreamed will compare with it. But the great work of God will not be perfected until every human being will have reached perfection, or will have been destroyed in the Second Death, because of refusal to come into harmony with the laws of righteousness. Then every creature in Heaven and on earth will be heard saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the lamb, for ever and ever."-- Rev. 5:13.
The dragon, then, symbolizes the Roman power, represented by the civil power in the world. The beast is the Papal system of government. The third symbol, the false prophet, remains to be interpreted. This, we believe, is another name for the system, elsewhere called "the image of the beast." (Rev. 13:14.) According to the Scriptures, this image is a very exact representation of the beast. The false prophet, or image of the beast, we understand to mean the Protestant Federation of Churches.
The Image of the Beast.
In order to see why the Protestant Federation of Churches should be symbolized as the image of the beast and as the false prophet, we must examine other symbolical Scriptures. In Rev. 17:5, our attention is called to a great "mystery." The word "harlot" in Scriptural symbolism does not mean an immoral person. It refers to the church, which was to be the Kingdom of God, but which lost her virginity and became united to an earthly husband, instead of her Heavenly husband. To what earthly husband did the church unite? To the Roman Empire. In the minds of Luther and other reformers there was no doubt that there was a close union between the church and the world. The church for a time claimed to be waiting for Christ to set up His Kingdom. Finally she said: "I will not wait until the second coming of Christ: I will unite with the Roman Empire."
[OV272]
All know the result. The Roman Catholic church was exalted, and reigned as a queen for centuries. This union of church and State is represented in a famous picture found in Italy. On a throne the Pope and the Emperor sit side by side. On one side are cardinals, bishops, the lower clergy and the laity, in order of rank. On the other side are generals, lieutenants, soldiers, etc., down to the common people. Thus the union of church and State was recognized.
On the basis of this union all earthly governments are called Christian; for they claim unity as part and parcel with the church. History tells us that for centuries the church appointed the earthly kings. Whomsoever the Pope desired was crowned. In proof of the supremacy of the church a story is told in regard to Emperor Henry IV of Germany, who had incurred the Papal displeasure and who as a punishment was compelled to stand for three days without the castle gates of Canossa, barefooted, and clad only in the haircloth shirt of a penitent, exposed to the inclemency of mid-winter. Then he was forced to crawl on hands and knees into the presence of the Pontiff, whose silk stocking was removed in order that the emperor might kiss the Pope's great toe, in fulfillment of Psa. 2:10,12, "Kiss the Son, O, ye kings of the earth."
To our understanding this is a mistaken application of Scripture. "The Son" is not the Pope. The "holy hill" is the Kingdom of God. His agency is symbolized as the holy Mount Zion. The great Messiah will completely overthrow all the things [that are not in complete harmony with] the kingdom of righteousness and truth, which will uplift mankind out of sin and degradation.
Roman Catholics believe that the Pope is the vicegerent of Christ, reigning in His stead. They believe that the present is the time when Satan is loosed to deceive the nations; that very shortly the church will again get full power in the world; and that as a result every one who does not obey them will be destroyed. This interpretation points us to Revelation, 13th and 20th chapters. Protestants do not appreciate the situation. Doubtless all thinking people have noticed that overtures for union come from Protestantism, but never from Catholicism.
The question now arises, Why should the Scriptures picture Protestantism as an image of the beast? When and how did this come about? From the time of the Reformation, Protestants had been striving individually to get out of the darkness of the past and thus had formulated many creeds and had organized many denominations. But about the middle of the last century the leaders began to see that if every one continued to study the Bible individually the time would come when each one would have an individual creed. To prevent what seemed to them a loss of power, they planned a union of Protestants in a system called the Evangelical Alliance.
The Evangelical Alliance, an organization of the different Protestant denominations, was formed in 1846 for the very purpose of doing in their own way the same thing that Catholicism would do in its own way. Seeing the great power that Roman Catholics would exercise because of a united system, Protestants said, "We are divided. We have no power. We will organize." Then and there according to the Scriptures, they made an image of the beast.
The Bible says, however, that before the image can do any particular harm it must receive life from the two-horned beast. (Rev. 13:15.) This two-horned beast with horns like a lamb, but a voice like a dragon, we believe represents the Church of England, which is not a party of the Evangelical Alliance. The Church of England makes the claim which the Church of Rome makes--that she is the true Church; that all others are wrong; that she has the original apostolic succession; and that no one is commissioned to preach unless he has had divine, apostolic hands laid upon him. This has been the contention of [OV273] the Church of England for centuries, and constitutes the difference between that Church and all other Protestant denominations.
Although the Evangelical Alliance was organized in 1846, it has not been able to accomplish its purpose, because it did not know how to operate. The denominations in the Alliance were united only in name, and hence have worked against each other. Denominations outside of the Alliance were declared to be unauthorized; and they, in turn, challenged the Evangelical Churches to show where they got authority to preach. As a result, the image had no power to act; it was trodden upon; and to get vitality--life--it would need apostolic succession; it must have something as a basis for operation.
The Scriptures indicate that the Church of England will become intimate with the Evangelical Alliance, and will give it apostolic authority to preach. Because of this union, the Alliance will be able to say, "We have apostolic authority to preach. Let no one speak unless he has our sanction." This action on their part is described in Rev. 13:17. None will be allowed to buy or sell spiritual things in the spiritual market unless he has either the mark of the beast or the mark of the image.
In Rev. 16:13 we find mention of the false prophets, another representation of the image--the vitalized product of the Evangelical Alliance, which has taken the form of Church Federation, and has to-day a great deal of vitality. Whether we can expect it to have more remains to be seen. The Scriptures clearly indicate that the image of the beast is to get so great power that it will do the same thing that the Roman Catholic Church did in the past; and that the two systems, Catholic and Protestant, will rule the civilized world with a high hand through the civil power--the dragon.
The Scriptures tell us that this result is to be brought about by the utterances of the combined power of Church and State. "Three unclean spirits like frogs came out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the dragon and the mouth of the false prophet." In this passage, the spirit is a doctrine--an unclean doctrine--a false doctrine. Each of these systems will utter the same things, and these utterances will have the effect of gathering the kingdoms of earth together to the great battle of Armageddon.
"Three Unclean Spirits Like Frogs."
The symbolism of Scripture, rightly understood, is very forceful, and there is always a close resemblance between the symbol itself and the thing symbolized. When the Holy Spirit uses a frog to represent certain doctrines or teachings, we may be sure that the application will fit well. While a frog is a small creature, yet it puffs itself up until it almost bursts with the effort to be somebody. A frog has a very wise look, even though it does not know very much. A frog croaks whenever it utters a sound.
The three most prominent characteristics of a frog, then, are pomposity, an air of superior wisdom and knowledge, and a continual croaking. Applying these characteristics to the picture given in the divine word, we learn that from the civil power, from the Catholic Church and from the Federation of Protestant Churches will go forth the same teachings. The spirit of all will be boastful; an air of superior knowledge and wisdom will be assumed; all will foretell dire results to follow any failure to obey their counsels. However conflicting the creeds, the differences will be ignored in the general proposition that nothing ancient must be disturbed, or investigated or repudiated.
The divine authority of the church, and the divine right of kings, aside from the church, will not be allowed to conflict; for both will be endorsed. Any persons or teachings in conflict with these boastful, unscriptural claims will be branded as everything vile, at the mouths of the frogs, croaking [OV274] from pulpits and platforms, and through the religious and secular press. The nobler sentiments of some will be strangled by the philosophy of the same evil spirit which spoke through Caiaphas, the high priest, respecting our Lord Jesus. As Caiaphas declared it expedient to commit a crime in violation of justice, both human and divine, to be rid of Jesus and His teachings, so this frog-like spirit will approve of any and every violation of principle necessary to self-protection.
Every true Christian is ashamed to look back upon the pages of history and see what terrible deeds were done in the name of God and justice, and in the name of our Lord Jesus. We are not to think for a moment that these frog spirits, or doctrines, are all bad, but rather that they are doctrines of bombast and pomposity, representing themselves to be very wise and great, and having the backing of centuries. Out of the mouth of the dragon comes the doctrine of the divine right of kings: "Do not look back in the curtain of history to see where the king got that right. Accept the doctrine; for if you do not, and if men look into the matter, there will be a terrible revolution, and everything will go down."
The beast and the false prophet have similar croakings. The Catholic Church says, "Do not look behind! Do not question anything about the church!" Protestantism says, also, "We are great, we are wise, we know a great deal. Keep quiet! No one will then know that you know nothing." All say (croaking): "We tell you that if you say anything against present arrangements, terrible things will come to pass!"
Political parties are figuring in this. All declare, "If any change should come, it will mean terrible disaster!" Some have the backbone and some have the civil power behind them, but unitedly they croak to the people that if any change is made, it will mean ruin to the present order. In the language of our day, "Stand pat!" is the order of the church and in State; but the people are being moved by fear. It is this croaking of the beast, the dragon and the false prophet that will arouse the kings of earth and gather them together to the Armageddon battle and destruction.
The ecclesiastical kings and princes, with their retinue of clergy and faithful adherents, will be gathered in solid phalanx--Protestant and Catholic. The political kings and princes, senators, and all in high places, with their henchmen and retainers, will follow in line on the same side. The financial kings and merchant princes, and all whom they can influence by the most gigantic power ever yet exercised in the world, will join the same side, according to this prophecy. They do not realize, however that they are coming to Armageddon; yet strange to say, this is part of their cry, "Come together to Armageddon."
Speaking of our day, our Lord declared, "Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Luke 21:26.) The kings of Europe know not what to do. All sectarianism is being shaken. Many people of God are in perplexity.
The croaking of the frog spirits, or doctrines, will gather the kings and princes, financial, political, religious and industrial into one great army. The spirit of fear, inspired by the croaking, will scourge the passions of otherwise good and reasonable men to fury-- desperation. In their blind following of these evil spirits, evil doctrines, they will be ready to sacrifice life and everything on what they mistakenly suppose is the altar of Justice and Righteousness under Divine arrangement.
Many noble people in this great army will assume an attitude quite contrary to their preference. For a time the wheels of liberty and progress will be turned backward, and mediaeval restraints will be considered necessary for self-preservation--for the maintenance of the present order of things and for the prevention of the [OV275] new order which God has decreed, the due time for which is at hand. Even those who may be God's people do not stop to consider whether it is His will that things should continue as they have been for the past six thousand years. The Bible says that such is not God's will, but that there is to be a great overturning--a new leaf.
For a brief time, as we understand the Scriptures, these combined forces of Armageddon will triumph. Free speech, free mails, and other liberties which have come to be the very breath of the masses in our day, will be ruthlessly shut off on the plea of necessity, the glory of God, the commands of the Church, etc. The safety-valve will be sat upon, and thus will cease to annoy earth's kings with the sound of escaping steam; and all will seem to be serene--until the great social explosion described in the Revelation as an earthquake will take place. In symbolic language an earthquake signifies social revolution, and the Scriptural declaration is that none like it ever before occurred. (Rev. 16:18,19.) See our Lord's reference to it in Matt. 24:21.
The Lord's Great Army.
At this juncture, the Scriptures show divine power will step forward and God will gather the marshalled hosts to Armageddon--to the Mount of Destruction. (Rev. 16:16.) The very thing which they sought to avert by their union, federation, etc., will be the very thing that they will hasten. Other Scriptures tell us that God will be represented by Messiah, and that He will be on the side of the masses. "At that time shall Michael (the God-like one--Messiah) stand up." (Dan. 12:1.) He will assume authority. He will take possession of His kingdom in a manner little looked for by many of those who erroneously have been claiming to be His kingdom, and authorized by Him to reign in His name and in His stead.
Our Lord Jesus declared, "His servants ye are unto whom ye render service." Some may be rendering service to Satan and to error, who claim to be rendering service to God and to righteousness; and some may serve ignorantly, as did Saul of Tarsus, who "verily thought that he did God service" in persecuting the Church. The same principle holds true reversely. As an earthly king does not hold himself responsible for the moral character of each soldier who fights his battles, so the Lord does not vouch for the moral character of all who enlist and fight on His side of any question. His servants they are to whom they render service, whatever the motive prompting.
The same principle will apply in the coming Battle of Armageddon. God's side of that battle will be the people's side; and that very nondescript host, the people, will be pitted at the beginning of the battle. Anarchists, socialists and hot-headed radicals of every school of reason and unreason, will be in the forefront of that battle. He who has any knowledge of army life knows that a great army is composed of all classes.
The masses will be restless under their restrains, but will be conscious of their weakness as compared with the kings and princes, financial, social, religious and political, who will then hold sway. The majority of the poor and the middle class prefer peace at almost any price. The masses have no sympathy with anarchy. They realize truly that the worst form of government is better than none. The masses will seek relief through the ballot and the peaceful readjustment of earth's affairs for the elimination of evil, for the placing of monopolies and utilities and the supplies of nature in the hands of the people for the public good. The crisis will be reached when the hitherto upholders of the law shall become violators of the law and resisters of the will of the majority as expressed by the ballot. Fear for the future will goad the well-meaning masses to desperation, and anarchy will result when socialism fails.
The Lord's saints are not to be in [OV276] this battle at all. God's consecrated people, longing at heart for Messiah's kingdom, will patiently abide the Lord's time, and wait unmurmuringly for it. Their lamps trimmed and burning, they will not be in darkness respecting the momentous events of the impending battle; but they will be of good courage, knowing the outcome portrayed in the "more sure word of prophecy," to which they have done well to "take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn."--2 Pet. 1:19.
The question now arises, Why did not God send His kingdom sooner? Why is Armageddon necessary? We answer that God has His own times and seasons, and that He has appointed the Great Seventh Thousand- Year Day for the reign of Christ. Divine wisdom has withheld until our day the great knowledge and skill which is breeding at the same time millionaires and discontents. Had God lifted the veil of ignorance a thousand years sooner, the world would have lined up for Armageddon a thousand years sooner. God did not bring these things before the present time because His plan has various parts, all of which are converging at the same time. In kindness, God veiled the eyes of mankind until the gathering to Armageddon would immediately precede Messiah's taking to Himself His great power and beginning His reign.-- Rev. 11:17,18.
The attitude of the people of God should be that of great thankfulness to the giver of every good. They should make provision for the great storm that is coming and keep very quiet, not unduly interested in the side of either rich or poor. We know in advance that the Lord is on the side of the people. He it is that will fight the Armageddon battle, and His agency will be that peculiar army--all classes. When this great "earthquake" of social revolution comes, it will not be a mere handful of anarchists, but an uprising of the people to throw off the great power that is strangling them. Selfishness is at the bottom of the whole matter.
For forty years the Armageddon forces have been mustering for both sides of the conflict. Strikes, lockouts and riots, great and small, have been merely incidental skirmishes as the belligerents cross each other's paths. Court and army scandals in Europe, insurance, trust and court scandals in America, have shaken public confidence. Dynamite plots, charged by turns on employees and employers, have tended to make each distrustful of the other. Bitter and angry feelings on both sides are more and more manifested. The lines of battle are daily becoming more distinctly marked. Nevertheless Armageddon cannot yet be fought.
Gentile times have still two years to run. The image of the beast must yet receive life--power. It must be transformed from a mere mechanism to a living force. Protestant Federation realizes that its organization will continue to be futile unless it receives vitalization--unless its clergy directly or indirectly shall be recognized as possessed of apostolic ordination and authority to teach. This, the prophecy indicates, will come from the two-horned beast, which we believe symbolically represents the Church of England. High-handed activities of Protestantism and Catholicism, operating in conjunction for the suppression of human liberties, await this vivifying of the image. This may come soon, but the Armageddon cannot precede it, but must follow--perhaps a year after, according to our view of prophecy.
Still another thing intervenes. Although the Jews are gradually flowing into Palestine, gradually obtaining control of the land of Canaan, and although reports say that already nineteen millions are there, nevertheless, prophecy requires an evidently large number of wealthy Hebrews to be there before the Armageddon crisis be reached. Indeed, we understand that "Jacob's trouble" in the Holy Land will come at the very close of Armageddon. Then Messiah's Kingdom will begin to be manifested. Thenceforth [OV277] Israel in the Land of Promise will gradually rise from the ashes of the past to the grandeur of prophecy. Through its divinely appointed princes, Messiah's kingdom, all-powerful, but invisible, will begin to roll away the curse and to lift up mankind, and to give beauty for ashes.
THE PEACE OF EUROPE
"GREAT peace in Europe. Order reigns From Tiber's hills to Danube's plains!" So say her kings and priests; so say The lying prophets of our day. Go, lay to earth a listening ear; The tramp of measured marches hear,-- The rolling of the cannon's wheel, The shotted musket's murderous peal, The night alarm, the sentry's call, The quick-eared spy in hut and hall! From polar sea and tropic fen The dying groans of exiled men! The bolted cell, the galley's chains, The scaffold smoking with its stains! Order,--the hush of brooding slaves! Peace,--in the dungeon-vaults and graves! O Fisher! of the world-wide net, With meshes in all waters set, Whose fabled keys to heaven and hell Bolt hard the patriot's prison cell, And open wide the banquet hall Where kings and priests hold carnival! Speak, Prince and Kaiser, Priest and Czar! If this be peace, pray what is war? White angel of the Lord! unmeet That soil accursed, for thy pure feet. Never in Slavery's desert flows The fountain of thy charmed repose; No tyrant's hand thy chaplet weaves Of lilies and of olive-leaves; Not with the wicked shalt thou dwell, Thus saith the Eternal Oracle; Thy home is with the pure and free! Stern herald of thy better day, Before thee to prepare thy way, The Baptist shade of Liberty, Gray, scarred, and hairy-robed, must press With bleeding feet the wilderness! O that its voice might pierce the ear Of priests and princes while they hear A cry as of the Hebrew seer: Repent! God's Kingdom draweth near!
[OV278]
THE SABBATH DAY
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath."--Mark 2:27,28. SEVEN is a very prominent number in the Bible--in everything relating to the Divine Program. In the first chapter of Genesis, the Sabbath Day is referred to in a figurative way in speaking of the seventh epoch of God's creations on our earth--bringing order out of chaos. Not until Mt. Sinai, however, when the Law was given to Israel on two tables of stone, was the Day Sabbath made obligatory on anybody. And since that law covenant was made with the one nation (Israel) and none other, the Sabbath requirements of that Law apply to that nation only. This does not signify that the setting apart of a certain time for rest would be of advantage only to the Jew, nor that a special seventh day devoted to God would be disadvantageous to all people. It merely means that God entered into covenant relationship with the one nation only, and hence to them only He told His will, His law--obedience to which He made the foundation of the blessing He promised to that people. There is no room to question the import of the Fourth Commandment of the Jewish law. It distinctly commanded that the seventh day of the week should be to the Jews a rest day, in which no work of any kind should be done, either by parent or child, employer or servant, male or female, ox or ass, or any creature owned by a Jew. It was a rest day pure and simple. Divine worship was not commanded to be done on that day--not because God would be displeased to have Divine worship upon that day or upon any day, but because there is a reason connected with the matter which related, not to worship but to rest, as we shall see. The strictness of this law upon the Jew is fully attested by the fact that upon one occasion, by Divine command, a man was stoned to death for merely picking up sticks on the Sabbath Day. It is plain, therefore, to be seen that the law given to Israel on this subject meant what it said to the very letter.
In the New Testament, Jesus is supposed by some to have taught a laxity in the matter of Sabbath observance, but this is quite a misunderstanding. Jesus, born a Jew, "born under the law," was as much obligated to keep that law in its very letter as was any other Jew. And he did not, of course, violate the obligation in the slightest degree. The Scribes and Pharisees had strayed away from the real spirit of the law in many particulars. Their tradition, represented at the present time by their Talmud, attempted to explain the law, but really, as Jesus said frequently, made it void, meaningless, absurd. For instance, according to the traditions of their elders, it was breaking the Sabbath if one were hungry to rub the kernels of wheat in their hands and blow away the chaff and eat the grain, as the disciples did one Sabbath Day in passing through the wheat field. The Pharisees called attention to this, and wanted Jesus to reprove the disciples, because, according to their thought, this simple process was labor --work--reaping and thrashing and winnowing. Jesus resisted this absurd misinterpretation of the law, and by [OV279] His arguments proved to any one willing to be taught that they had mistaken the Divine intention--had mistranslated the law of the Sabbath. On several occasions He healed the sick on the Sabbath Day. Indeed, the majority of His healings were done on that day, greatly to the disgust of the Pharisees, who claimed that He was a law-breaker in so doing. We cannot suppose that Jesus performed these miracles to aggravate the Pharisees; rather we are to understand that their Sabbath Day typified the great Sabbath of blessing and healing--the antitypical Sabbath which is in the future --the period of the Messianic reign and the healing of all earth's sorrows.
Jesus clearly pointed out to the Scribes and Pharisees that they were misinterpreting the meaning of the Divine arrangement, that God did not make man merely to keep a Sabbath, but that He had made the Sabbath for, in the interest of, mankind. Hence everything necessary for man's assistance would be lawful on the Sabbath Day, however laborious it might be. Indeed, Jesus carried the thought still farther, and pointed out to His hearers the absurdity of their position--for, He said, if any of you should have an ox or an ass fall into the pit on a Sabbath Day, would you leave him to die and thus suffer loss, as well as allow the animal to be in pain? Assuredly they would not, and assuredly they would be justified in helping any creature out of trouble on that day. Then said Jesus, If so much might be done for a dumb creature, might not a good work of mercy and help for mankind be properly enough done on the Sabbath Day?
The Seventh Day Still a Sabbath.
A mistake made by many Christians is the supposition that the law covenant which God made with Israel ceased, passed away. On the contrary, as the Apostle declares, "The law hath dominion over a man so long as he liveth." The Jewish law is as obligatory upon the Jew to-day as it was upon his fathers in the days of Moses. Only death could set the Jew free from that law covenant until, in God's due time, it shall be enlarged and made what God, through the Prophet, styles a new covenant--a new law covenant. That will take place just as soon as the Mediator of the new covenant shall have been raised up from amongst the people. That prophet will be like unto Moses, but greater--the antitype. That prophet will be the glorified Christ--Jesus the head and the completed church, who are frequently spoken of as members of His body, and sometimes styled the bride, the lamb's wife. This antitypical mediator (Acts 3:22,23), under the new law covenant which He will then establish, will assist the Jews (and all who come into harmony with God through Him) back to that human perfection in which they will be able to keep the Divine law perfectly in every particular. This great mediator, Messiah, will for a thousand years carry on this great work.
This mediator is not yet completed. The head has passed into glory centuries ago, but the body, the church, awaits a completeness of membership and resurrection change--to be made "like Him and see Him as He is" and share His glory and His work.
Meantime the law covenant is still in force upon every Jew; but it is not in force upon any but Jews, as it never has been in force upon any other people. During these eighteen centuries, between the death of Christ and the inauguration of the new covenant, Jesus, as the great high priest, is offering the "better sacrifices" mentioned by St. Paul (Hebrews 9:23) and described in type in Leviticus 16. The first part of the great high priest's sacrifice was the offering of the human body which He took for the purpose when He was made flesh--"a body hast thou prepared Me" "for the suffering of death." (Heb. 10:5, 2:9.) The second part of His "better sacrifices" is the offering of His mystical body--the church. This work has been in progress since Pentecost. To [OV280] the consecrated ones who approach the Father through Him He becomes the advocate. He accepts them as His members on the earth; and their sufferings thenceforth are His sufferings so fully that He could say of them to Saul of Tarsus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." These, accepted as His representatives in the flesh, their blemishes covered by their advocate's merit, are begotten, by the Heavenly Father, of the Holy Spirit to be members of the new creation--the spiritual body of Christ, of which He is the head.
We remarked that the Sabbath Day, still in full force and its observance obligatory upon the Jew, is not upon other nationalities. We should modify this statement by the remark that there are some who mistakenly endeavor to be Jews and try to get under the law covenant provisions as Sabbath-keepers. St. Paul recognized this tendency in his day. Note his words to the Christians of Galatia, who were not by nature Jews, but Gentiles. He says, "Ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" "Oh, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?" He proceeds to show them that the Jews are in bondage to their law and can never get eternal life under it until the Mosaic law covenant shall ultimately be merged into the Messianic new law covenant. His argument then is that if the Jew cannot get life in keeping the law, it would be foolish for Gentiles to think that they could secure Divine favor and everlasting life by keeping the law. He declares, "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight." The only way to obtain justification in God's sight is by the acceptance of Christ and by a full consecration to be His disciples and to join with Him in His covenant of sacrifice as it is written, "Gather together My saints unto Me, saith the Lord, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." (Psalm 50:5.); and again, "I beseech you, brethren, present your bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, your reasonable service." --Romans 12:1.
Christians and the Law Sabbath.
St. Paul did not mean that Christians should not strive to keep the Divine law, but that they should not put themselves under it as a covenant, nor think that by striving to oppose the law covenant they would get or maintain harmony with God and gain the reward of everlasting life. On the contrary, he declares in so many words, "The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who are walking, not after (or according to) the flesh, but after (or according to) the spirit." (Romans 8:4.) His meaning is clear. The Decalogue was never given to Christians, but it is quite appropriate that Christians should look back to that Decalogue and note the spirit of its teachings and strive to conform their lives thereto in every particular.
But what is the spirit of the Decalogue? Our Lord Jesus clearly set it forth to be--"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy being, with all thy strength, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." St. Paul says that our Lord not only kept the law, but that He magnified it, or showed it to have greater proportions than the Jews ever supposed it had--length and breadth, height and depth beyond the ability of fallen humanity to perform; moreover, the apostle declares that our Lord Jesus made that law honorable. The Jews having tried to keep the Divine law for more than sixteen centuries, had reason to doubt if any one could keep it in a way satisfactory to God. But the fact that Jesus did keep the law perfectly, and that God was satisfied with His keeping of it, made the law honorable--proved that it was not an unreasonable requirement --not beyond the ability of a perfect man.
Jesus showed the spirit or deeper meaning of several of the commandments; for instance, the commandment Thou shalt do no murder, He indicated [OV281] would be violated by any one's becoming angry and manifesting in any degree an injurious or murderous spirit. (See also 1 John 3:15.) The commandment respecting adultery our Lord declares could be violated by the mind without any overt act--the simple desire to commit adultery if an opportunity offered would be a violation of the spirit of that commandment. It is this magnified conception of the Ten Commandments that the apostle says Christians are better able to appreciate than the Jews, because of having received the begetting of the Holy Spirit. And it is this highest conception of the Divine Law which is fulfilled in us (Christians--footstep followers of Jesus) who are walking through life, not according to the flesh and its desires and promptings, but according to the spirit--the spirit of the Divine law, the spirit which the Father hath sent forth into our hearts--the desire to be like Him who is the fountain of love and purity.
The Spirit of the Sabbath.
And there is another or deeper meaning to the other commandments than was understood by the Jews; so it is also with the Fourth, which enjoins the keeping of the seventh day as a day of rest or Sabbath. The word Sabbath signifies rest, and its deeper or antitypical meaning to the Christian is the rest of faith. The Jew, unable to keep the Mosaic law and unable, therefore, to get everlasting life under the law covenant, was exhorted to flee to Christ; and, by becoming dead to the law covenant, by utterly renouncing it, he was privileged to come into membership in Christ--become sharer in the covenant of sacrifice. So doing, he was promised rest from the law and its condemnation, because "to them that are in Christ there is no condemnation" --the merit of Christ covers the shortcomings of all those who are striving to walk in His steps, and the Divine Spirit and Word give them the assurances of Divine favor, which ushers them into peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ--ushers them into rest. Thus the apostle declares, "We which believe do enter into (Sabbath) rest."--Hebrews 4:3.
Moreover, the Apostle indicates that although we enter into a rest of faith now, through faith and obedience to Christ, Christians have a still greater rest awaiting them beyond their resurrection, when they shall enter into the rest which is in reservation for those that love the Lord--the rest, the perfection, on the spirit plane, attained, as the Apostle describes, by resurrection --"sown in weakness, raised in power; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown an animal body, raised a spirit body."
Fiftieth Day and Fiftieth Year.
Here we are reminded that Israel had two systems of Sabbaths--one of Sabbath days and the other of Sabbath years. The Sabbath days began to count in the spring. It was a multiple of seven. Seven times seven days (forty-nine days) brought them to the Jubilee day, the fiftieth day, which was styled Pentecost. It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the fulfillment of the anti-type of this. Pentecost never had its true meaning until the Lord, as "the first-fruits of them that slept," arose from the dead. Then immediately the seven times seven, plus one, began to count, and on the fiftieth day, the Holy Spirit was shed abroad upon all those "Israelites indeed" who, already consecrated, were waiting in the upper room for the antitypical high priest to make satisfaction for their sins and to shed forth upon them the holy spirit, as the evidence of their restoration to divine favor. Immediately they had peace with God. Immediately they entered into rest. Immediately they realized that they were children of God, begotten of the holy spirit, that they might in due time become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, their Lord. And is it not true that all down throughout this gospel age all who followed in the footsteps of Jesus and the disciples, [OV282] all who renounce sin, trust in Jesus and fully consecrate their lives to Him, become recipients of the holy spirit and similarly enter into His rest? Only those who have entered into this rest and joy of the holy spirit can fully appreciate the matter.
Now let us glance at the year Sabbath. Every seventh year the land had its rest. And seven-times seven (forty-nine) brought them up to the fiftieth year or the year of jubilee, in which year all debts were cancelled and each Israelite returned to his own inheritance. It was a year of rest, peace, joy. That jubilee pictures the glorious restitution times of Messiah's kingdom, which, we believe, are nigh, even at the door. When these times shall be ushered in, all the faithful followers of Jesus will have reached the heavenly condition, to be forever with the Lord. Their rest (Sabbath keeping) will have reached its completion, its perfection, and throughout that antitypical jubilee the blessings of Divine favor will be gradually extended to the whole world, that every creature desirous of coming into harmony with God may enter into the rest which God has provided for the poor, groaning creation through the great Redeemer.
The Christian's Sunday Sabbath.
From what we have already seen, it is manifest that God has put no Sabbath obligations upon the Christian-- neither for the seventh day nor for any other day of the week. He has, however, provided for them a rest in the Lord, which is typified by the Jewish Sabbath day. Do we ask upon which day we should celebrate this rest? We answer that we should be in this heart attitude of joy, rest, peace in the Lord and in His finished work, every day. So, then, the Christian, instead of having a Sabbath rest day, as the Jew, has rest perpetual--every day. And instead of its being merely a rest for his body, it is better--a rest for his soul, a rest for his entire being. It can be enjoyed wherever he may be, "at home or abroad, on the land or the sea," for "as his days may demand, shall his rest ever be." This is the spiritual antitype to the spiritual Israelite, of the law Sabbath given to the natural Israelites. Whoever quibbles for the day Sabbath of the Jew shows clearly that he has not understood nor appreciated as yet, to the full, at least, the antitypical Sabbath which God has provided for the spiritual Israelite through Christ.
But is there not a compulsion to the Christian to observe one day in the week sacred to the Lord? Yes, we answer; there is an obligation upon him such as there is upon no one else in the world. He is obligated by his covenant to the Lord to keep every day sacred to the Lord. Every day he is to love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his being, with all his strength; every day he is to love his neighbor as himself. And while striving to the best of his ability to conform to this spirit of the Divine law, and while realizing that the blood of Jesus Christ our Redeemer cleanses us from all the imperfections contrary to our intentions --these may rest in the peace and joy of the Lord continually. "We which believe do enter into rest."
There is no day of the week commanded to the spiritual Israelite as respects physical or mental rest--the latter they may have always, and the former may be ordered by human regulations for one day or for another. The Christian is commanded to be subject to the laws that be, in all such matters as are non-essential, not matters of conscience.
The Right Use of Liberty.
Let us remember, however, that our liberty in Christ is the liberty from the weight and condemnation of sin and death. Let us not think specially of a liberty from the Jewish restraints of the seventh day, nor think especially of the fact that no day above another has been commanded upon Christians in the Bible. Let us rather [OV283] consider this liberty as of minor consequence and importance as compared with our liberation from the power of sin and death.
If one day or another be set apart by human lawgivers, let us observe their commands. Let us be subject to every ordinance of men. In Christian lands generally the first day of the week is set apart by law. Shall we ignore this law and claim that God has put no such law upon us, and that we should have our liberty to do business, etc.? Nay verily; rather, on the other hand let us rejoice that there is a law which sets apart one day in seven for rest from business, etc. Let us use that day as wisely and as well as we are able for our spiritual upbuilding and for assistance to others. What a blessing we have in this provision! How convenient it makes it for us to assemble ourselves together for worship, praise, the study of the Divine word! And if earthly laws provided more than one Sabbath (rest) day in the week we might well rejoice in that also, for it would afford us that much more opportunity for spiritual refreshment and fellowship.
Nor should our knowledge of the liberty we enjoy in Christ ever be used in such a manner that it might stumble others. Our observance of the Sabbath enjoined by the law of the land should be most complete--to the very letter--that our good be not evil spoken of--that our liberty in Christ and freedom from the Mosaic law be not misunderstood to be a business or pleasure license, but a privilege and opportunity for the worship and service of the Lord, and the building up of the brethren in the most holy faith, "once delivered to the saints."
Who Changed the Sabbath Day?
Often the question is asked, Who changed the Sabbath day to Sunday? The proper answer is that nobody changed it. The seventh day (Saturday) is still as obligatory upon the Jew as it ever was.
The early Christians observed the seventh day for a long time, because it was the law of the land, which gave them a favorable opportunity for meeting for praise, prayer and the study of God's word. In addition, the fact that Jesus arose from the dead on the first day of the week, and that He met with them on that day, led them to meet again and again on the first day, in hope that He would again appear; thus gradually it became a custom for them to meet on that day for Christian fellowship. In this way, so far as we know, both the first day and the seventh day of the week were observed by Christians for quite a time, but neither was understood to be obligatory --a bondage. Both days were privileges. And as many other days of the week as circumstances would permit were used in praising God and building one another up in the most holy faith, just as God's people are doing, or should be doing, in this, our day.
Are we told that a pope once designated that the first day of the week should be observed by Christians as the Christian Sabbath? We answer that this may be so, but that neither popes nor any beings, not even the Apostles, could have right to add to or to take from the word of God. St. Paul particularly warned the church against coming into bondage to the Jewish custom of observing new moons and Sabbaths, as though these were obligations upon Christians. The Son of God has made us free--free indeed. But our freedom from the Law Covenant of Israel enables us the more and the better to observe the very spirit of the Divine law daily, hourly, and to present our bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God through the merit of our Redeemer.
[OV284]
THE TRUE CHURCH
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"But ye are come...to the General Assembly and Church of the First Born, which are written in Heaven." --Hebrews 12:22,23. THE oneness of the Church of Christ is everywhere made prominent in the Bible. Sects and parties are nowhere recognized. Nowhere is it intimated that Christ has various Churches--for instance, the Roman Catholic, the Anglican, the Greek, Presbyterian, Congregational, Lutheran, etc. On the contrary, there is but the one "Church, which is the Body of Christ," and that Body of Christ has but the one head, Jesus.
We not only find that Christ and the Apostles established but the one Church, but we cannot think of any reason why these should have established more than one. Nothing is plainer than that our sectarian divisions arose from our neglect and loss of "the faith once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3.) As the divisions came in, the errors came in with them; and, as the errors go out, so, also, will sectarianism pass away.
The General Assembly of the Saints.
We should not be under any human or sectarian name, nor divided by sectarian creeds, but united as one people through our consecration to the Lord, through our desire to know His will by the study of His word. We thus represent the Scriptural or ideal Church of Christ. Regardless of nationality, language, caste and of all sectarian creeds and bondages, we are simply and solely as children of God, to be Bible students in the School of Christ, to learn of Him--to be fitted and prepared for glorious joint-heirship with Him in His coming Kingdom, and meantime to learn at His feet the lessons necessary for so great a coming service.
(1) The joys of the present are merely a foretaste of the perfect glory we will experience when we enter into the joys of the Lord--beyond the veil. Now we know in part the wondrous things of our Heavenly Father's character and plan, and of our Redeemer's love and sympathy, and of each other's love and sympathy; then we shall know even as we are known, is the guarantee of the inspired Apostle.
Enter into the Joys of the Lord.
Now we see as through an obscure glass the things which the natural eye cannot see nor hear, neither can enter into the heart of the natural man, but which God has revealed unto us by His Spirit. But they are still more or less obscure to us. We cannot weigh nor appreciate the wonderful glories which God has in reservation for us, but then we shall see Him face to face, as St. Paul declares.
(2) As new creatures in Christ, we seek to know each other as God knows us, not after the flesh, but after the spirit. But for all that we experience difficulties. It is often difficult for us to entirely overlook the flesh of our brethren, as they no doubt have difficulty in overlooking our blemishes in the flesh. But oh, what will it be to be there! All the imperfections and weaknesses of the flesh, against which we must now fight--all these will then be gone.
Have we not the promise, "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is?" Have we not the promise [OV285] again that, Sown in weakness, we shall be raised in power; sown in dishonor, we shall be raised in glory; sown an animal body we shall be raised a spirit body? Have we not the further promise respecting that glorious resurrection change, which shall lift us completely out of the human and into the divine nature, that "We must all be changed," "for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God?"-- 1 Corinthians 15:50,51.
Further Trials--Further Battlings.
We remember that we "have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin" and fighting "the good fight of faith." We still have need of the Scriptural exhortation, "Watch," and "stand fast;" "Quit you like men;" "Put on the whole armor that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand."
Every spiritual help and assistance we receive are parts of the Father's good providence for us whereby we shall be the stronger, the more courageous, the better prepared for further trials, besetments, difficulties and conflicts with the world, the flesh and the Adversary.
But when we reach the glorious condition mentioned by the Apostle, all the fightings and trials and testings will be in the past. For us, therefore, there will be no more sighing, no more crying, no more dying, no more fightings, no more crosses, no more sufferings, but instead, life eternal, joy eternal, glory, honor and immortality at our dear Redeemer's right hand of favor. Well do we know that this hope of sharing in the General Assembly of the Church of the First-borns strengthens and nerves His own to loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord, the Truth and the brethren as the days go by.
Let us console ourselves with the thought that whatever is the will of God concerning us must necessarily be for our highest welfare and best interests. If, therefore, it is not yet time for us to pass beyond the veil, it is because our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer have a work for us to do in the present life--either a work of further polishing upon our own characters or a work of helping the brethren, for we remember the declaration that the Bride is to make herself ready for that event. We are to build one another up in the most holy faith, encouraging, strengthening, sympathizing with and assisting one another in running the race for the great prize.
Another happifying thought we should carry with us day by day is the Lord's promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And again, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in thy weakness." And again, "We know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to the called according to His purpose."-- Romans 8:28.
So, then, let us not lose heart and flee from the battle, like an army corps in retreat, but rather, as a company of good soldiers who have been refreshed and encouraged and stimulated, we will return to our duties full of good courage, full of joyful anticipation of the coming Great Home-Gathering of the Church of the First-borns; full of renewed determination that by the grace of God, and with the assistance of our great Advocate, we will make our calling and election sure by so running in His footsteps as to obtain the great Prize which He has offered to us.
The Context in Agreement.
Let us detain you a little longer that we may point out afresh that the context confirms our glorious hope respecting this Great Convention of the future, and shows that it is nigh at hand. St. Paul pictures before us the fact that God's dealings with Israel, in bringing them out of Egyptian bondage and to Mt. Sinai, pictured the work of this Gospel Age, in the calling of Spiritual Israel out of the bondage of sin and death. The Apostle thus shows that the giving of the Law Covenant to Israel at Mt. Sinai typically [OV286] represented the giving to them of the New Law Covenant from Mt. Zion in the end of this age.
The Law Covenant was given through a mediator, Moses, and the New Law Covenant is to be given through a Mediator, the Antitypical Moses, Jesus the Head and the Church His Body. It has required all this Gospel Age to gather out of the world and to try, test, polish and fit the members of the Body of Christ, who, under His Headship, will be with Him the Antitypical Moses, the Antitypical Mediator between God and men.-- Jeremiah 31:31; Acts 3:22,23.
As Moses went up into the Mount to commune with God before the Law Covenant was completed, so the entire Church must go up into the Mountain, into the Kingdom, with our glorious Head and Redeemer, by the change of the First Resurrection. As the time for Moses' going up into the mountain drew near, there were great manifestations of the dignity of the Divine government. And just so in the closing of this Age, the Apostle informs us, the world will have terrifying experiences on a still greater scale. He says that then the mountain trembled and smoked, and that the Divine voice was heard. The people were so terrified that they entreated that they might not hear further, but that Moses might act as mediator, and he did so.
So it will be here: There will be such manifestations of Divine Justice and opposition to sin and all iniquity that it will cause the "time of trouble" mentioned by the Prophet and by Jesus, "A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; no, nor ever shall be" after.--Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21.
The result of this great time of trouble upon the world will be a realization that they need a Mediator--a Mediatorial Kingdom. And this is just what God has provided for them through the arrangement of the New Covenant.
Contrasting the experiences at the inauguration of the typical Law Covenant with those to be expected at the inauguration of the antitypical, the New Law Covenant, St. Paul says: "God's voice then shook the earth, but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." And the Apostle explains that the expression, "once more," signifies that this second shaking will be so thorough that no further shaking will ever be necessary, but everything of injustice and unrighteousness which ought to be shaken loose will be shaken; and this, says the Apostle, implies everything except the Church and the glorious Kingdom which we shall then receive: "Wherefore we, receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."--Hebrews 12:18-29.
The Shaking Already Commenced.
Can we not see the shaking already beginning? Let us remember that this time it will not be the shaking of the literal earth, as in the type, but the shaking of the symbolical earth--the shaking of society to its very center. Do you not already hear the rumblings --the rumblings of discontent, anger, malice, hatred, strife? These forebode the "great earthquake," an expression symbolic of the great Revolution, wherein the present order of things shall collapse and give place to the New Order of Immanuel's Kingdom of righteousness, justice, equity.
And, says the Apostle, God intends this time to shake not merely the earth --the social fabric--but also the heaven--the ecclesiastical powers of the present time. Not the true Church will be shaken, but the many systems which more or less misrepresent the true Church and "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."-- Jude 3.
Do we see premonitions of this shaking? Yea, verily. In all denominations there are forebodings of coming trouble. We may even fear that some of the attempts at Christian union are not made with the proper motive, but through a realization of the [OV287] shaking which the Lord is about to permit to come upon the ecclesiastical systems of this present time.
"Wait Ye Upon the Lord."
Dear brethren, in these coming days of trouble, which may be very near, the opportunity may come to you and to me to be either strife-breeders or peace-makers. Let us see the will of the Lord in this matter, that we are called to peace, and that the declaration of the Master is, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
Let us seek rather to subdue and calm the passions of men in the coming strife, and to do nothing to augment them or to kindle the fires of passion which we know are about to consume the present social fabric. Let us point out to those with whom we have any influence that the worst form of government in the whole world is better than no government--better than anarchy, a thousand times. Let us remind them of the fact that in God's providence we have the best of all earthly governments.
Let us remind them, too, that the Lord has told us to wait for Him and not to take matters into our own hands. His words are, "Wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language (Message), that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent."--Zephaniah 3:8,9.
FATHER, TAKE MY HAND
THE way is dark, my Father! Cloud on cloud
Is gathering thickly o'er my head, and loud
The thunders roar above me. See, I stand
Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
Thy child.
The way is long, my Father! And my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal;
While yet I journey through the weary land,
Keep me from wandering, Father, take my hand.
Quickly and straight
Lead to heaven's gate
Thy child.
The path is rough, my Father! Many a thorn
Hath pierced me; and my weary feet, all torn
And bleeding, mark the way. Yet Thy command
Bids me press forward. Father, take my hand.
Then, safe and blest,
Lead on to rest
Thy child.
The throng is great, my Father! Many a doubt
And fear, and danger, compass me about,
And foes oppress me so. I cannot stand
Or go alone. O Father! take my hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
Thy child.
[OV288]
Man's Fall From Divine Favor
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"What is man?"--Psalm 8:4. WE HAVE chosen for our topic on this occasion what we believe is an important, yea, a vital question of deep interest to all humanity: "What is Man?" This great question the Bible alone answers distinctly and satisfactorily, as we hope we shall be able to demonstrate. The answer of Science to our query is at least in one respect right and in full accord with the Bible. Science tells us that man is an animal of the highest order--genus homo. The Bible agrees with this, and declares man distinctly different from the lower animals, and also distinctly separate from angels and spirit beings. He is terrestrial, "of the earth, earthy" --he is not spiritual, not celestial or heavenly. The earth, not heaven, was made for his home.
The Bible does tell of man's fall from Divine favor and of his Divine condemnation, but his fall was not from a heavenly condition to an earthly condition, but from an earthly condition of perfection to a dying condition of imperfection. The Bible teaches that if man had not sinned, his life would have been everlasting, in earthly perfection, and that his home would have been an earthly Paradise in which he would have enjoyed the blessing and fellowship of his Maker.
The death sentence did not alter or change his nature, but merely forfeited his life and all of his blessings and rights which were dependent upon life. The penalty was not, "To eternal torment shalt thou go, to suffer eternally at the hands of demons," but, "Dying, thou shalt die;" "Thorns and thistles shall the earth bring forth unto thee;" "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread until thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." And of the faithful execution of this Divine penalty against the sinner we are all witnesses.-- Genesis 2:17; 3:17,18.
And Yet How Grand is Man!
As we stood by the ruins of ancient Memphis, where Joseph rose from being a slave to being the Governor, next to King Pharaoh, we were impressed with some of the mighty monuments which persist despite the ravaging hand of time. We said to ourselves, What is man? What a king of earth he is, and has been, notwithstanding his deterioration through sin and the fall! As we noted the sculptures of thirty-five hundred years ago we said, Truly the Bible is right when it declares that God made man in His own image--that to man, the highest earthly creature, the great Creator, Himself a spirit, imparted an impress of His own character and a measure of His own power, so that man really was created a god of earth toward the lower creatures which were put under his care, as his Creator is the God of the universe.
Our admiration for our race and its skill was greatly enhanced as we thus cogitated. The pyramids, and especially the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, near Cairo, impressed us similarly. When we considered the wonderful accomplishments of that long-ago period and reflected that we could scarcely do more to-day with our most improved [OV289] machinery, our appreciation of our ancestors was enhanced, and we said, It would be very difficult for many to accept the modern scientific theory that our forefathers but a short time ago were cousins to the ape.
Some of the temples of India and China similarly impressed us. Athens, too, with its museums and ancient structure, similarly said to us, Truly man in his original perfection must have been created in the image of his Maker! Our visits to Rome impressed upon us the fact that although the work of death has progressed in our race, nevertheless, in a measure the decay of the masses has by Divine providence found compensation; for although we have no Michael Angelo to-day, we have legions who are inspired by his example, and who have copied him with wonderful success, so that to-day our treasures of art are not only multitudinous but grand beyond those of any previous day.
The great St. Peter's at Rome is itself a treasury of art such as never before was known in the world, besides which all the great capitals of Europe abound with art galleries which illustrate the power of the human mind and the skill of the human hand in the appreciation and execution of the beautiful. And in this connection we must not forget the similar treasures of our home land, America.
Utilities of Our Day.
But, dear friends, you and I are living in a specially utilitarian age. The skill of humanity has during the last century been turned into a new channel, which is making for us a new world. Instead of the narrow streets and lanes of a century ago, we have broad asphalt avenues and boulevards; instead of ordinary houses of a century ago, our cities are replete with handsome and commodious residences that in comparison are palaces. Beautiful, graceful bridges span our great rivers and serve to consolidate our interests. Wonderful tunnels pierce our mountains and facilitate the movement of luxurious railway coaches. Palatial steamers with regularity connect port with port.
Often of late we have found ourself admiring some of our grand hotels and palatial capitols and engineering feats of bridge work and tunnels, saying to ourselves the while, What is Man? Then we reflect, If man in his fallen condition has learned gradually to accomplish so much, what may we reasonably expect would have been the ultimate capacity of perfect man had not sin entered into the world, and had the experience of centuries been accumulating in many brains! By now, how wonderful a being Father Adam might have been!
Times of Restitution.
Then our mind reverted to the great Creator and the message He has given us in His wonderful Book, the Bible. We remembered the inspired message of consolation, that God looked down in pity on us as a race in our fallen condition and that He planned even before our fall for our recovery as a race from the curse, from sin, from death. We hearkened to St. Peter's words of encouragement respecting the glorious blessings to be ushered in by the great Redeemer when at His second advent He shall take unto Himself His great power and begin His Messianic reign for the blessing, recovery and uplift of our race. We will remind you of His words although you are familiar with them. He said, "Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must retain until the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."-- Acts 3:19-21.
Ah, God is better than all our fears! During the Dark Ages a terrible nightmare became associated with the glorious gospel of God's love and mercy revealed by Jesus and the Apostles. Under that nightmare we lost sight of [OV290] all the glorious promises of the Bible and lost our confidence in God because of the terrible propositions declared to us to be His intentions toward our race. True, all acknowledged the hope that a saintly few would attain an eternal weight of glory on the heavenly plane, but all the remainder except the saintly ones, the elect, were consigned either to a terrible purgatorial fire or to an eternal holocaust of torture. What blasphemies against our God, the God of Grace, we thus unwittingly, undesiringly entertained!
The effect of these teachings in all parts of the world, in every religion, has been to convert man's natural quality of reverence for his Creator into a terrible fear, and this fear has more and more separated us from God and the Bible.
Mankind and the Church.
We are now coming to understand more fully the Bible doctrine of election, and we see it to be not unjust and cruel as it once appeared, but beautiful and blessed, for both elect and non-elect. The Divine Plan was, and still is, a universal plan--a plan granting universal opportunity to Adam and to all his race for a recovery from the penalty of sin--for a recovery from sin and death to all that Father Adam had in the beginning, and which he lost through disobedience, and which Jesus redeemed for him and his race at Calvary, and which all the willing and obedient may have back again at the hands of the Redeemer, if they will, during the period of His Messianic reign.
This is the restitution which St. Peter tells us God spoke "through the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." And the blessing will not be merely restitutionary, but indeed all the experiences of the present time with sin and sorrow, pain and death will be blessed, helpful lessons for the future--guards against any repetition of the scenes of disobedience against the Divine regulations made for man's comfort, happiness and everlasting joy.
The work accomplished by our Redeemer at Calvary was merely a preparatory one. His death provided the ransom-price for Father Adam, and hence for all Adam's race who share his condemnation. The work of Divine grace which has progressed since Jesus' death and resurrection is also a preparatory work. During this period of more than eighteen centuries God has been gathering out of the world a special class, willing to pass through specially severe trials and testings of faith and obedience, under the inspiration of certain "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4) --of a share with Jesus in the Divine nature and glory, honor and immortality.
This selecting work began with natural Israel, and has extended now gradually the world around, gathering from every nation samples and representatives, but all saintly; all in heart, at least, copies of God's dear Son, the Redeemer. With the dawning of the Seventh Great Day--the Day of Christ--this work of electing or selecting a special class of saints to constitute His bride and joint-heirs in the kingdom will be complete. Then will begin the salvation of the world--the reclamation or restitution of the world from sin and death conditions, made possible by the great redemptive work of Calvary.
"Glory in the Highest."
From what we have seen of the Divine provision for man's recovery we grasp the force of the prophetic declaration following the question of our text--"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him--the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" When we think of the greatness of our God, and the littleness of ourselves, even in our best estate, and especially when we think that we are all sinners, we are amazed that our great Creator was mindful of us--mindful of preparing a great plan of salvation--willing to provide for our redemption, and making preparation for the Kingdom which is to bless the race. Can we doubt that He who [OV291] has so loved the world while they were yet sinners will bring His plan to a glorious consummation? Can we doubt that He will do all that He has promised, exceeding abundantly more than we could have asked or thought?-- Ephesians 3:20.
Do not understand us to say that the Bible teaches a universal salvation of our race to life eternal. No, that would be unreasonable. That would imply Divine coercion of the human will, and such a coercion would be contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures --that man is created in God's image and likeness. An essential feature of the Divine likeness in man is the freedom of his will--his body may be coerced or enslaved, or what not, but the human will is indomitable, like that of man's Creator.
It is evidently not the Divine intention to destroy the human will, but to educate it--to allow it to develop as a will, along the lines of experience, so that it may be voluntarily submitted to the Divine will because of appreciation of the wisdom of all the Divine arrangements, regulations, laws, etc. The Divine proposition, therefore, is that as all mankind shared by heredity the sentence of death which came upon the first man, Adam, so the redemption accomplished by the Second Adam shall be co-extensive with the fall, so that all Adam's race who will do so may return to God and be abundantly pardoned and finally restored to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary.--Matthew 18:11-13; Luke 19:10.
And what, you ask, will be the fate of those who willfully, deliberately, persistently, intelligently resist the Divine will and refuse the glorious opportunity of restitution? The Bible answers that all will be on trial for life eternal or for death eternal, and that those who refuse the conditions of heart loyalty and obedience will bring upon themselves afresh the sentence of death. But this second sentence will differ from the first, not in the kind of punishment, but in the duration thereof.
The first or Adamic death God from the first foreordained should be set aside, and from the very beginning He made preparations for the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, and to consequently make possible for our race a resurrection from the dead and a further opportunity or trial for everlasting life. Wilful sinners under the light and opportunity of the New Day, when condemned to death, will die no more thoroughly than before, but their death will be a hopeless one; no Redeemer has been apportioned for them and none will be apportioned; no redemption for them will be effected and no resurrection will be granted. As St. Peter declares, they shall perish "like natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed."-- 2 Peter 2:12.
JESUS ONLY
JESUS only! In the shadow
Of the cloud so chill and dim,
We are clinging, loving, trusting,
He with us and we with Him;
All unseen, though ever nigh,
Jesus only--all our cry.
Jesus only! In the glory,
When the shadows all are flown,
Seeing Him in all His beauty,
Satisfied with Him alone;
May we join His ransomed throng,
Jesus only--all our song!
[OV292] GOD IN THE HOME
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."--Joshua 24:15. DO NOT understand us to teach that the world's opportunity for life everlasting or death everlasting is now. "God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world," grant the world a judgment or trial or test. That great day is future. It is the day of Christ, a thousand years long. It will be a glorious opportunity! Present right doing and right thinking, or wrong doing and wrong thinking will have much to do with the condition of every man and woman at that time. He or she will enter upon that Day of blessing and opportunity either from a higher or a lower standpoint, proportionately as he or she has acted wisely and conscientiously at the present time.
But nothing that the world can do can interfere with God's great proposition, that a full opportunity for life or death eternal shall then come to every member of the race, because Christ died for the ungodly. The only class to whom present life means life or death eternal is the church. And by the church, we mean, not church attendants, nor outward professors, but those who have entered into a covenant with God through Christ and who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasting of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. If these should fall away, the Apostle forewarns us, it would be impossible to renew them again unto repentance. And there will be no home for them with the world in the world's trial day because they already have enjoyed their share of the merit of Christ's death.
A Great Privilege.
When, therefore, we speak of God and the home, we have in mind a family composed exclusively of saints who daily and hourly are following their great Redeemer's footsteps in self-denial, in sacrifice, in the narrow way which leads to glory, honor and immortality and association with the Redeemer in His glorious Kingdom which is to bless the world for a thousand years.
We believe the Bible teaches that there are many of the world who are reverential, kind and just to a large degree, who are not saints, who have not presented their bodies living sacrifices to God, who have not been begotten of His Holy Spirit, and not, therefore, members of that "little flock to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the Kingdom"--in joint-heirship with their Redeemer and Head. To this latter class our Master evidently referred when He said to His followers, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
To live righteously, soberly and godly in this present world to the extent of one's ability is what every one should do--no less. To live a life of sacrifice--to lay down our lives for the brethren, for the truth, in the service of the Lord, is another matter, which justice does not require, and which the Bible nowhere enjoins upon mankind. It is pointed out as a privilege to those who desire it, and glory, honor and immortality on the spirit plane is the reward attached to this invitation or high calling. It is the selection of this special class of consecrated [OV293] ones that is the particular order in the Divine program at the present time, because the faithful, the elect, the "over-comers" of this class are to be the associates of the Redeemer in His great work of uplifting the world and restoring all the willing and obedient to human perfection, to an earthly Eden home everlasting in which God's will shall "be done on earth as it is done in heaven."
An Inundation of Unbelief.
In our day the shackles of ignorance and superstition are breaking. Men, women and children are beginning to think for themselves. They no longer believe the fairy tales of childhood. The dreadful hobgoblins and nightmares of the Dark Ages respecting purgatory and eternal torture are doubted by all, and by the great mass totally disbelieved. What have they now to attach them to the Almighty since they have never been taught the love of God, the lengths and breadths and height and depths passing all human understanding? This is the world's great need--to know God as He really is, a father, a friend, a God of love! And to thus know Him the people need to be taught how seriously they were mistaught in the past along the lines of hell and purgatory.
How could they ever truly love and worship a God of injustice and of hate --one inferior to themselves--one who knew, foreordained and prepared for their torture before they were born. They must see that these things taught by the creeds of the Dark Ages are wholly at variance with the Bible, else they will never come back to the Bible nor be able to see its teachings in their true light. They must be taught that the sin and death, sorrow and trouble all around us are the wage or penalty of Father Adam's disobedience. They must learn that God purposes a blessing and uplifting which will be as world-wide as the curse.
Many religious leaders to-day deny that there is a personal God, and ascribe everything to--a great Nothing, which they designate Nature-god. Is it surprising, in view of the fact that these teachings are being promulgated in the universities, colleges and theological seminaries, in the high schools and even to some extent in the common schools--is it any wonder that the rising generation is losing its God?
Awakened Parental Responsibility.
It is high time that parents realize the true situation--it is almost too late now. The seeds of unbelief already sown in the minds of the rising generation are being watered continually and are growing. All who love their families, all who love mankind in general, should awaken to the fact that a world that has lost its God must of necessity be an unhappy world. Platonic philosophy may serve the purposes of the few, but surely cannot serve the masses of our race. A godless world will, ere long, mean a discontented world, an unhappy world, and, bye and bye, a world of anarchy and strife. This is what our worldwide education is leading to. Few of our race can stand an education which recognizes no God, no revelation of Him, no responsibility to Him, and no hope of a future life which will be effected by the conduct of the present.
O LOVE, our refuge in earth's wildest storm! O Service, life-breath of a heart that's warm! A dual-unity, of heaven born; For love is service in its highest form. Flame-tints that shimmer on the desert air! Love-lights that make Life's sands a garden fair, Where joy and pain sing softly to the soul, That God in man is Love in human care.
[OV294]
Christendom in Great Danger
The "Very Elect" Protected
By C. T. Russell, Pastor
London and Brooklyn Tabernacles
"God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie; that they all might be condemned who believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."-- 2 Thessalonians 2:11,12. THE STATEMENT of the Apostle James that God tempteth no man is not to be understood as a contradiction to the language of our text. God tempteth no man to sin, to do wrong, but He has at various times sent or permitted siftings and testings among those who are nominally His people--to separate the true from the false. Sometimes a great truth becomes the sifting or separating cause, as at our Lord's first advent. There our Lord's presentation of Himself in the flesh to the covenant-nation, Israel, as the long promised Savior, Deliverer and King, became to that people as a whole a test, separating the "Israelites indeed" from the mass of the nation--separating the wheat from the chaff. Our text tells of the end or Harvest-time of this Gospel Age, and of how the Lord will now permit or "send" strong delusions for the purpose of sifting and separating the true from the false among those who have named the name of Christ. We hold that, according to the Scriptures, we are living in this Harvest period, and that the sifting of the wheat from the tares has begun, and that the strong delusions mentioned in our text are coming upon Christendom.
The Scriptures bring to our attention a class of spirit beings which fell from Divine favor before the flood. These, we are told, have from that time until the present day been confined in chains of darkness in Tartarus--the circumambient air of this planet. The story of these fallen angels is briefly stated four times--in Genesis 6:2; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 6. The Old and New Testament records are thus in agreement. Additionally, however, we have a multitude of Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testaments, which refer to these fallen angels as "demons," unfortunately mistranslated "devils" in our common version. Without exception these demons are represented as cunning, deceitful, treacherous, devilish and as having a special malignant attitude toward mankind, and as taking special delight in misleading and deceiving humanity, particularly along irreligious lines and immoralities.
The Fallen Angels.
We call to your remembrance the Apostle's statement regarding this matter, to the effect that God's people have their struggle or contention, not with flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits in influential positions. Again the same Apostle points out to us that Satan is the chief leader of these spirits or demons and declares that we are not ignorant of his devices, his intrigues, his deceptions; again he styles him as wily, adroit, cunning. He informs us that the heathen world, while thinking they are worshiping God, are really deceived by these demons; their religious theories and practices are really [OV295] demonology instead of theology.-- Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:8.
Two Opposing Gospels.
The human family is in great distress through the fall; mental, moral and physical imperfections are manifest everywhere: "there is none righteous, no, not one." As a consequence, all are agreed to the Apostle's broad statement, "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together." (Romans 8:22.) Naturally enough the groaning ones seek for the cause of their trouble as well as for a remedy. The Bible sets forth as the cause of all earth's woes and sorrows the brief statement, "By one man sin entered the world and death by sin, and thus death passed upon all men, for all are sinners." It sets forth the remedy also, namely, "Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures," and at His Second Advent He will introduce "times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." Thus, in brief, is the Gospel of Christ, (Acts 3:21; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3.)
The "gospel" of the demons contradicts this from first to last. It denies that man ever was created in God's image and likeness; denies that he ever fell from it into sin and death; denies that Christ ever redeemed us, and holds that we need no Redeemer; that a process of evolution is at work which is lifting mankind from a mean and low brute beginning upward, to ultimately make of the race gods, and that all that is necessary for this grand result is time. As for death, demonology denies that there is death, and claims that what seems to be death is really a change from a low form of life to a higher form.
This demon teaching is to be found among all the heathen peoples and in all their religious writings, but it is not at all sanctioned in the Scriptures. They teach to the contrary, as we have shown, that death is the penalty for sin; that it is a real penalty, a real death; that the dead are really dead, and that there is neither wisdom nor device nor knowledge in the grave (Sheol), whither all go, and that the hope of the race lies in a resurrection, and that the hope of a resurrection lies in the redemptive work of our Lord's First Advent, and in the glorious power and authority which He will exercise at His Second Advent.
A pertinent question for each of us, dear friends, at this moment is this: To which of these teachings do we give adherence? Are we holding fast "the faithful Word of God," or are we giving heed to these seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, against which the Lord and Apostle gave so many warnings? Is our theological faith an anchor of hope holding us firmly to the truth as set forth by the Lord, or are we to any extent drawing on the original falsehood told by Satan and perpetuated by the lying spirits--the falsehood that death is not death, that our dead friends are more alive than ever before, etc.? If this be the case, let us at once begin a thorough examination of the Divine Word, assured that error never sanctifies, but is always injurious, and that our Lord was right when He prayed for His disciples, "Sanctify them through Thy Truth, Thy Word is Truth."-- John 17:17.
How consistent is the Word and Plan of God, which, so far from speaking of death as the angel God has sent, assures us that death is our enemy, which already has taken from us many of our loved ones, blighted our lives, and will ultimately destroy us except as we become united to the great Life-giver, Jesus. Those who do not see that the dead are dead do not catch the full, weighty import of the blessed assurance that Christ is the Life-giver, and that He came into the world and died for our sins that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Nor do they see the real beauty that lies in the promise of a resurrection from the dead, for if none are dead how could there be a resurrection of the dead? [OV296] Only those who clearly and distinctly see the Scriptural teaching on this subject are fortified against the delusions of these demons, built upon this erroneous feature of theology, which not only has permeated all the creeds of Christendom, and to a large extent has made of no effect the Word of God respecting our redemption from the grave and the hope of the resurrection from the dead at the Second Coming of Christ.--1 Corinthians 15:12,13.
Christendom Ripe for Delusions.
The erroneous belief that the dead are alive has been to some extent for centuries offset by another error, namely, that the majority of them are confined to a place of torment--purgatory or otherwise--and a small minority were far off enjoying the bliss of Heaven, all of which hindered the thought that they might be communed with through mediums. Besides, there has been a kind of "horse-sense" prevailing which has restrained many from having great confidence in spirit communications. While faith was expressed, a doubting fear was associated with it, and this doubting fear was increased by finding that some of the spirits seeking communion were "lying spirits," and although others made different presentations they were all more or less held in doubt and fear. Now, however, we are coming to a time when all intelligent people question the fables of the Dark Ages respecting hell and purgatory, fire, devils, pitchforks, etc.
Consequently it daily becomes easier for spiritists to find sympathy for their claims that the spirits of the dead are hovering around the living, that our atmosphere is full of them, that they are not confined to heaven nor in hell. This thought has been aided by many sermons on funeral occasions, depicting the dead as hovering over the friends gathered at the funeral, the assurance being given that if the dead could only speak he would say to the weeping ones, "Weep not," etc. All of this unscriptural guess-work, presented in the name of the Bible and in the name of Truth and in the name of intelligence, has had its effect upon the masses, who are now thoroughly perplexed as respects the place and condition of their dead friends. A growing intelligence forbids the thought that a God of Love and Justice has consigned them to the care of devils in eternal flames of fire or other torture.
Inquiries of the clergy respecting the place and condition of the departed bring no satisfaction; the few who still tell of tortures in infernal regions are less and less believed, and the others of increasing number who deny that the dead are in tortures are unable to give any answer respecting their whereabouts. No wonder the confiding sheep are perplexed. Oh, that they would look to the Word of the Lord, that they would remember "the Lord is my Shepherd," that they would seek from the inspired source the knowledge which their souls crave! Oh, that they might learn that the hope set before us in the Gospel of Christ is the hope of the resurrection of the dead! Mark the clearness of the Apostle's statement on this subject--If there be no resurrection of the dead, then they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.--1 Corinthians 15:17,18.
The Delusion is Sent.
The reason for the sending of the strong delusion mentioned in our text is plainly stated in the context, but before it can be appreciated it is necessary to have some grasp of the Divine Plan of the Ages; it is necessary to see that the Lord's work throughout this Gospel Age has not been, as many suppose, an attempt to convert the world, but, as the Scriptures declare, He has been merely electing or selecting out from the world a people for His name --to be the Bride of Christ. (Acts 15:14.) We must see, too, that this elect people does not include all who become nominal members of Christian churches, but merely those who through full faith and consecration [OV297] become followers of the Lord Jesus in very truth, and receive the spirit of adoption from the Father. These, through the trials and difficulties of this life, shall be proved overcomers of the world and its spirit, and accepted as joint-heirs with Christ, as His Bride, in His Kingdom. This class, the Scriptures distinctly tell us, is but a little flock. Our Lord's words are, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." The Apostle declares also, "Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble hath God chosen." "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the Kingdom?"-- 1 Corinthians 1:26; James 2:5.
After we once see that only the overcomers or Kingdom class are being selected during this Gospel Age, we are ready to see that God's great time for dealing with the majority of our race is in the future--after the Second Coming of Christ--during His Millennial Kingdom whose reign of righteousness will bless and give opportunity of eternal life to all the families of the earth.
End of the Age not End of World.
We are not of those who expect this world to be burned up. Quite to the contrary, we expect its rejuvenation, its perfecting as the Garden of Eden, the Paradise of God, the everlasting home of the majority of the human family--of all except the truly consecrated Church of this Gospel Age and those who shall ultimately die the Second Death. We have no sympathy of thought, therefore, with those who are looking for the destruction of the earth; but we nevertheless believe, as the Scriptures teach, that the present age or aion will cease and a new age or aion begin. In error the translators have rendered the word aion "world" and have given a misimpression.
More than this, we believe that the Scriptures clearly indicate that the present age is now ending and the new age, lapping with it, is beginning. It is at this particular juncture that all the New Testament writings, as well as our Lord's great prophecy of Matthew 24, center, indicating a time of confusion, a trouble such as the world has never known before, and pointing out that these are judgments of the Lord designed to prepare the world for the next Dispensation and the reign of the kingdom of righteousness. Furthermore, the Apostle distinctly points out that these judgments will begin at the House of God--the nominal church. Our Lord also points out the same thing, calling it a separation of wheat from tares in the "harvest" or close of this age.--Matthew 13:30.
It is because Christendom as a whole --though nominally a wheat field, is practically a tare field with a scattering of wheat intermingled, that there is to be such a commotion in connection with the separation of the wheat and the tares. True, the Lord who knoweth the heart, who knoweth them that are His, could easily separate them from the others, but He has chosen to make a separation publicly to demonstrate His own justice in the matter. Hence in this harvest time--at the proper time to separate the wheat from the tares--the Lord not only sends the sickle of Truth to gather the wheat, but He also sends the strong delusions to gather the tares.
"THE Lord be with you!" steals the benediction
With solemn splendor like a falling star;
In morns of joy and midnights of affliction,
It breathes its echoed sweetness near and far.
"The Lord be with you!" when the shadows hold you;
And prove His loving power to soothe and bless;
When dangers darken and when fears enfold you,
"The Lord be with you!" in His tenderness.
[OV298]
Satan's Ambition---Jesus' Ambition
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
(In this issue Pastor Russell begins a series of articles relative to Satan --his origin, his present occupation and his future prospects. We feel confident that our readers will not only greatly enjoy this series of articles, but be profited thereby.) NONSENSICAL traditions handed to us from the Dark Ages have greatly confused the people of God on every Bible subject; for instance, Satan has been pictured grotesquely, and as presiding in some far-off torture chamber. He has been represented as superintending the tortures of the non-elect of humanity.
The Bible account has been wholly ignored. Instead of the Bible's representing Satan as a repulsive being with hoofs, horns and forked tail, it tells us that he was created an angel of a very high order in the early part of creation--one of the "morning stars"--"a covering cherub."
Doubtless for centuries he lived in fellowship and communion with Jehovah, but when "iniquity was found in his heart" estrangement became rapid. Jesus says that He saw "Satan fall like lightning from heaven"--so quick was the descent from Divine favor and esteem.
Satan's First Great Lie.
According to the Bible, Satan's primary sin was an ambitious pride. He imagined he could direct the affairs of the universe, in which he might set up a separate dominion and try out his schemes. When Divine Power created Adam and Eve, and bade them multiply and fill the earth, Satan saw his opportunity to put his ambitious schemes into operation. The holy angels would not think of rebelling against Divine authority to co-operate with him in his schemes; but here was Adam, an inexperienced man, who might be deceived into disobedience to God, and thus be won over to Satan and his designs. Through him he saw his way to an earthly empire in which his will would be done, as Jehovah's will is done in heaven.
Thus it came about that when God instructed Adam and Eve in respect to the fruits of the Garden of Eden, and forbade their eating of one certain kind of fruitage, and put a penalty upon disobedience, then Satan, through the Serpent, lied to them. He told them that their Creator wished to keep them in a measure of slavery; that the fruit forbidden them was the very fruit necessary to their highest development; that so far from doing them injury, it would be a boon, and make them as wise as God Himself. Satan intimated to them that God did not wish them to be as wise as Himself, but desired to hold them in the slavery of ignorance.
[OV299]
The thirst for knowledge and the doubt of God's wisdom and love came before our first parents as a temptation, and they yielded; they disobeyed. This was sin. And it brought upon them the penalty God had foretold --"Dying, thou shalt die." The dying process began immediately, but so strong was the perfect man that even in the imperfect surroundings of the accursed earth outside of Eden he was able to prolong his dying 930 years.
Satan obsessed, or took control of the Serpent, and so guided it that it spoke the deceptions to our first parents. It is not even necessary to suppose that the serpent spoke with an audible voice. Quite likely, as our adage goes, its actions spoke louder than words. It partook especially of the fruit forbidden to our first parents. The fruit did not kill the serpent. On the contrary, Mother Eve perceived that it was wiser than any other of the beasts of the earth. By its actions it declared to her mind that God had misstated the facts when He told them that the eating of that forbidden fruit would bring death to them.
Satan's Plot Thickens.
When Satan beheld Adam and Eve outcasts from Eden, and perceived that gradually the penalty, "Dying, thou shalt die," would come upon mankind, weakening them in mind, in body and in morals, he should have been convinced of the folly of his course. But no, an evil course of pride, once entered upon, leads further and further astray. Instead of surrendering to the God of all grace, Satan became more defiant. Instead of repenting of the lie by which he had injured a race, he added to it, still seeking to lower God in the eyes of humanity.
Apparently, Satan sought so to alienate and demonize mankind that a perpetual barrier would be raised in their hearts against the Almighty, and that thus humanity might be hindered from ever again coming into fellowship with God, no matter what provision God's mercy or grace might make for their return. For six thousand years Satan has been carrying on his wicked work of slander and misrepresentation of the Divine character and purposes.
Satan's Next Device.
According to the Scriptures, Satan was disappointed that his subjects were dying, and was resolved to remedy this matter. Hence his next step was to inoculate the race with a fresh strain of life, vitality--vigor from the angels, who had never shown any symptoms of death. These, possessed of the power to materialize--to assume human bodies--were encouraged by Satan to violate the law of their being and the law of their nature--to misuse their materializing powers. Satan's word to our first parents, "Ye shall not surely die," must be upheld. By hook or by crook he would strive to fulfil his word, and to make the Almighty the falsifier.
The allurement was successful. Many of the angels heeded God's adversary and indulged themselves in the pleasures of sin. Of this matter we read in Genesis 6:2. Those angelic sons of God saw the daughters of men --that they were fair, beautiful, and took of them for wives such as they chose, and started human families-- all contrary to the Divine arrangement of their being, wholly misusing their power of materialization. Satan's course seemed to prosper. God's time to interfere had not yet come. He would allow disobedience and a certain degree of liberty that it might eventually illustrate to all certain great principles and lessons respecting the divine character, plan and arrangements, designed for the good of all God's creatures.
The children of this combination of angelic vitality grafted upon the human stock were a race of giants--physically and intellectually superior to the condemned and dying race of Adam. Being begotten and born under purely lustful conditions, and in [OV300] violent opposition to the Divine will, this new race of giants retained nothing of the image or likeness of God. They were brutish, sensual tyrants. Under them the human family would soon have been exterminated; for we read respecting conditions that God perceived that the earth was full of violence, and that the thoughts of men's minds were only evil continually. God's wisdom saw that it would be best to blot out entirely that order of things, and to start a new arrangement. The deluge accomplished this.
Thenceforth those angels who for centuries had lived in sin were restrained from materialization and separated from the holy angels, being confined to Tartarus, or earth atmosphere. Meantime, instead of starting a new race of men, God carried over Noah and his family of seven. These constituted a new start for the Adamic family. And the statement that they [OV301] were perfectly generated and that they had no angelic adulteration, assures us of the solidarity of our race, and that the Redemption price paid for Adam includes every one of us; under the Lord's arrangement that "As all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive."
Satan's Great Defeat.
This was the first defeat that Satan had met with--the first great manifestation of Divine power in opposition to him. But still it only partially stopped his program. The liberties of himself and his associate fallen angels were thenceforth restricted, limited, to earth. No longer had they the privilege to roam the Universe. Furthermore, no longer were they permitted to assume a human form by materialization. They still, however, had their original perfection of organism and their general liberty. Satan thus had opportunity for assuming that God had done all that He was able to do in the way of restraining and opposing him.
Adapting himself to the new conditions, Satan and his fallen host attacked mankind in a new way after the deluge. They would poison the minds of humanity against God. They would declare that Satan's original lie was the truth, and that God's statement was a lie.
They would try to prove to mankind that the dead are not dead--that they merely changed their condition from a lower to a higher one, and that they are more alive than ever. Whoever would come under the influence of this their teaching, would discredit God's statement--would "believe the lie," would think of a dead man as really advanced to a higher station instead of having fallen into death.
Men, persuaded that the dead are alive, could easily, on the basis of that error, be led to believe that the dead were suffering torments, and the thought that God would authorize and permit such torments would tend to brutalize mankind, and tend also to estop them from thinking of God as gracious, merciful and sympathetic. Thus, alienated from God in their mind, they would be more amenable than ever to Satan and his associates in evil. Then, too, upon the basis of this falsehood, this deception, other errors could be introduced. Some could be taught respecting a purgatory and respecting the possibility of escape from purgatory under certain terms and conditions. All this would tend to bring about the slavery of the human mind, and make possible further inroads by the evil spirits.
St. Paul refers to these doctrines of demons, and styles them also "strong delusions, that they should believe a lie," because they had less pleasure in the truth. These strong delusions have been operating in the world for now more than four thousand years. Can we wonder that they have gained a strong hold upon humanity? Can we wonder that they are to be found in every corner of the earth--among the savage Indians of America, among the blacks of Africa, among the millions of India, China, Japan? We cannot wonder at this, especially when we remember the Apostle's statement, "We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits in high (influential) places."
Witches, Necromancers.
Of course, there must be some channel, some theory, some attempted proof given in support of Satan's lie. Of old it was accomplished by witches and necromancers. These pretended to communicate with the dead and to get from them answers to the questions from the living. Thus by continued deceptions in accordance with Satan's original lie, mankind was kept from knowing the source of these instructions and the demons, the fallen angels, were permitted to inveigle mankind, thus binding them more closely than ever with fetters of ignorance and superstition.
So far as the world in general was concerned, God permitted this, intending [OV302] eventually to deliver mankind; but in the case of Israel, God's favored nation, He especially intervened to shelter them from the attacks of the adversary, by special laws and regulations prohibiting mediumistic operations of the evil spirits. He did this by warning Israel against having anything whatever to do with those who had familiar spirits-- witches, necromancers, wizards, etc. Under penalty of death, none of these were to reside in Palestine.
Some of them, however, risked the penalty and did reside there, as evidenced by King Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor, when he desired to communicate with Samuel, the Prophet, who was dead. Of course, Samuel was dead, and neither Saul nor the witch could revive him. But the evil spirits could impersonate Samuel; and that they did so, is the record. They caused the witch to see certain things, which she described to the king, and which he interpreted to himself. Thus was the error propagated even in God's special nation--separated from all others of the world to be His people.
Jesus Cast Out Demons.
In the days of our Lord, we find that many of the people had been dabbling in Spiritism, and had come under the influence of the fallen angels to the extent of obsession, and some of them to the extent of being possessed by evil spirits, who did their thinking and talking for them, merely using their human organs as their servants. This would seem to have been the alternative to materialization. If the fallen angels could no longer materialize, they would do the thing next to their preference--they would get control of the mind of some individual and thus have control of his body.
In all such cases it would appear that the victim, becoming a tool of the evil spirits, is frequently caused by them to say and to do things indicating depravity greater than he or she had before the obsession began. The tendency of all such things seems to be toward licentiousness. In the days of Jesus and His Apostles, according to the Scriptural accounts, they cast out demons from many people, some of whom had more than one. One man had a legion. Many physicians know well that some who are apparently insane are not really so as respects any brain disease. They merely are obsessed, possessed of evil spirits. When several of these gain control of one man, they make his life unbearable by the conflicts which they establish, especially operating along the auditory nerves.
Throughout this Gospel age, Satan and his demon legions, operating through dreams, mental impressions, etc., have so thoroughly deluded the masses of mankind that nearly all believe Satan's lie, and only an extremely small minority believe the Word of the Lord. The process of supporting the lie continues. Writing mediums, trance mediums, tipping mediums, black art, theosophy and occultism in general--all support the theory that a dead man is more alive than a living one. In the symbolical language of the Book of Revelation, all nations have been made "drunk with the wine of false doctrine."
Those who discern the falsehood have learned a great lesson--to put confidence in the Word of the Lord and not in human imaginations. This great lesson, ere long, will be taught to all, and we may assume will surely justify the Lord's course in permitting Satan's lie to flourish so thoroughly and for so long a time. We know not certainly what further terrible experiences may come to man as a result of believing the lie of Satan instead of the Word of God, but certain Scriptures seem clearly to imply that this age is to end with some great catastrophe which will demonstrate the wisdom of those who hold fast the truth and the folly of those who neglect it.
[OV300]
WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS
"WHAT a friend we have in Jesus,"
Sang a little child one day;
And a weary woman listened
To the darling's happy lay.
All her life seemed dark and gloomy,
All her heart was sad with care;
Sweetly rang out baby's treble,--
"All our sins and griefs to bear."
She was pointing out the Savior
Who could carry every woe;
And the one who sadly listened
Needed that dear Helper so!
Sin and grief were heavy burdens
For a fainting soul to bear;
But the baby singer bade her
"Take it to the Lord in prayer."
With a simple, trusting spirit,
Weak and worn, she turned to God,
Asking Christ to take her burden,
Owning Him as her dear Lord.
Jesus was her only refuge,
He could take her sin and care,
And He blessed the weary woman
When she came to Him in prayer.
And the happy child, still singing,
Little knew she had a part
In God's wondrous work of bringing
Peace unto a troubled heart.
[OV303]
Satan the Murderer---Murderer to Die
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
(This is the Second of a Series of articles from Pastor Russell's pen respecting Satan's origin, his present occupation and his future prospects.) WE ALL KNOW that the holy angels of Heaven are free from the blights which cause sorrow on earth. In Heaven there is no sighing, no crying, no dying, no sickness, no heartaches, no headaches, no insane asylums, no funerals, no doctors. On earth these things are so familiar that many assume that they always have been and always will be. And yet, without a question, we all acknowledge that the same God who made such a splendid provision for the angels is the God of humanity, our Maker. Why should He have done so differently with two creations of His own family--His own creatures, His own children?
The Bible explains that the reason for the difference between God's treatment of mankind and His treatment of the angels is that the human family became sinners, depraved, alienated, through the disobedience of Father Adam; that the entire race of Adam is mentally, mortally, morally and physically impaired; and that these impairments are all incidental to the curse, or penalty of sin; namely, "Dying, thou shalt die." Genesis 2:17-- margin.
Satan the Murderer.
Jesus declares that Satan is responsible for the death of our race. He is the greatest criminal of all history, and is to meet his fate--soon. He was the murderer of our first parents, and by the laws of heredity we all lost our lives through his terrible deception. Satan persuaded Mother Eve that God, who cannot lie, had lied to her; that the declaration, "Dying, thou shalt die," is an untruth; that man could not die; that he had some inherent life that even God himself could not interfere with. He persuaded her that God had a selfish motive in making the death threat, in telling the lie; that God wished to keep her and Adam in ignorance; but that, by obeying himself, they would become like God.
Man's sentence was carried out. Our first parents were driven from Eden, that they might no longer have access to its life-sustaining fruits, that they might come under the penalty, "Dying, thou shalt die." There never was a sentence, Thou shalt live in eternal torment and be tortured by devils. All such misrepresentations are slanders of the Divine character, purpose, and Plan, intended to dishonor God and turn mankind away from Him.
Satan the Incorrigible.
For all these six thousand years Satan has maintained his attitude of enmity toward God and antagonism toward all the Divine arrangements, laws and regulations. God, all-powerful, could have restrained Satan at any moment if He had chosen. The fact that He has allowed him to remain and to practice to some extent his evil work assures us that the results will justify the course pursued by the Almighty.
In the sight of the holy angels, the vicious, scheming, plotting, deceiving, lying murderous spirit of Satan has been fully manifest; and by and by the whole world of mankind, now subject [OV304] to his deceptions, will be fully recovered and fully informed respecting them. God undoubtedly sees that the permitting of sin to take its course will eventually bring to the world, to angels, and to the Church, a wider knowledge of good and evil, of right and wrong, than could have been communicated to them in any other way.
Satan, evidently always hopeful that he might outwit the Almighty and accomplish his purpose, has especially labored during the past nineteen centuries. When he could not seduce the great Redeemer to disloyalty to God, he sought to put Him to ignominious death, only to find that in this he had fulfilled the Scriptures. Later, in persecuting the Church and in bringing in damnable heresies, through seducing spirits inculcating doctrines of demons, Satan has sought to turn the hearts of all against the Heavenly Father, and to mislead them in respect to the Divine character and Plan.
Sin's Wage is Death.
Our great Creator has one Law for His Empire: "The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life." Satan was given this gift; but it was conditional--dependent upon his obedience. From the moment of his rebellion he was worthy of the sentence of death. But it was not decreed. Time was given him to see the folly of his course. Century after century increased Satan's spirit of opposition to God and to righteousness. Even the terrible disaster of sickness, sorrow and death which he has brought upon mankind swerved him not from his evil course. Even the death of the Savior for the redemption of the race moved him not to sympathy and pity. His heart seems to have become the more hardened in proportion as he has seen manifestations of Divine love and pity. This is an illustration of the general trend of sin--to hardness of heart.
A certain time has been fixed in the Divine Program for the execution of this great murderer. He must first witness the undoing of all his work. He must behold how the light of the knowledge of the glory of God will sweep away all the delusions which he has fostered, and will emancipate humanity and lead to the anthem, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
The Scriptures do not inform us of where Satan will be during the period of his bondage, during the period of his restraint from doing evil--during the thousand years of Messiah's Reign. It merely informs us that at the conclusion of that period he will be loosed again, that he may bring a trial and a test upon the human family, then perfect in the flesh. Their number, we are told, will be as the sand of the seashore--a world full. They all will have enjoyed the full benefit of Messiah's Reign--Restitution to all that was lost--to full human perfection. The earth, brought to perfection, will be as the Garden of Eden --the Garden of the Lord, Paradise restored.
Why Will Satan Be Loosed?
The Bible answer is that God desires to prove, to test, all of the human family. They will have had a knowledge of sin, a knowledge of God's goodness, a knowledge of human recovery from sin to death. But the question which God would decide with them is, Have they so learned the lesson of the sinfulness of sin and the bitterness of its results that they would hate sin and love righteousness --that they would be obedient to God, trusting Him where they could trace Him and where they could not? Any who after all the experiences they will have passed through would not be absolutely loyal to the Lord to the very core in word, in deed and in thought, would not be dependable--would not be worthy of eternal life, which God purposes only for those who have demonstrated fully established characters in harmony with the Creator's.
As to the nature of the test we are not informed. We are merely told that Satan will be loosed that he may [OV305] tempt all mankind. We may be sure that the temptations will be along the lines of full submission to the Divine will. The Scriptures imply that when Messiah shall deliver up the Kingdom at the close of the Millennium, the government of the world will become a republic, in which each person is a king, and one of these kings chosen by vote to be the administrator of the affairs of the government.
All Will Be Tested.
Let us suppose as an illustration that mankind would be expecting such a change of government at a particular time. Let us suppose that God had allowed them to misunderstand some feature of His Plan, and thus to expect the change of government at the wrong time. Here would be an opportunity for a test upon all. A question would arise which would tend to cause a division amongst all mankind. Some might be inclined to say, The time for the change has come, and it should be made; and those who are retaining the government are in error. So believing, they might make a demand upon the earthly representatives of the Divine government that a transfer should be made, and that the world should become a Republic instead of remaining a theocracy.
Others of mankind might say: Nay, we are debtors to God for all that we have. We may have misunderstood the time or some feature of the Divine purpose, but we are very happy, very thankful to God, very appreciative of the blessings we are enjoying. If God wishes to make a change in the government, well and good. If God wishes that the present government shall hold over indefinitely, all well and good. We refuse to join with those who are proposing a demand for the transfer of the government.
Something of this kind would seem to be implied in the figurative expressions of Revelation 20:9. "The camp of the saints and the Beloved City" would seem to represent the earthly phase of the Kingdom, and the encompassing of the camp would seem to imply a protest. Such a division of sentiment would show clearly how many had fully learned to commit everything to God and to trust absolutely in the Divine supervision of their affairs, and how many, after all the great lessons of seven thousand years, would still be inclined to take matters into their own hands-- world-wide.
Destruction of Satan and All God's
Enemies.
The denouement here and elsewhere pictured is that there came down fire from Heaven and devoured them-- Satan and all those who took the side of self-will and who indicated a measure of disloyalty and unfaithfulness.
Many are the Scriptures which seem to tell us of the final destruction of Satan; as, for instance, Romans 16:20, which declares that God will ultimately bruise Satan under the feet of the Church, thus associating the Church, the Body of Christ, with the Lord, the Head. This corresponds with the Divine statement in Eden that ultimately the Seed of the woman would crush the Serpent's head--ultimately destroy the Serpent and all that he stands for: namely, sin and rebellion against God.
Thus, eventually the wages of sin and death must be meted out to any wilful, persistent rebel against the Divine Law, whether he be an outward rebel or one secretly disloyal. The lesson is one for all of God's people and for the whole world. If we know the Spirit of the Lord in respect to sin, happy are we if we conform our lives thereto.
Let us mark well the course that will ultimately lead to Satan's destruction. Let us mark well also the course of Jesus, which led to the highest glory. Which example shall we follow? Shall we in humility walk in the footsteps of our Redeemer, and become His joint-heirs, or shall we take the other course of pride, and thus become disciples of the Adversary, and reach his doom?
[OV306]
Fatal Ambition---Noble Ambition
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
The Third of a Series of Articles by
Pastor Russell on Satan's Origin, his
Present Occupation, and Future prospects.
WE SHOULD remember that practically the entire Bible is addressed to the Church of Christ--to those who have left the world, who have given their all to the Lord, acceptable through Christ, and who are intent upon knowing and doing God's will. The world is left by the Lord to try out its own ambitions, to realize, eventually that these result in disappointment. It is when we experience the disappointment of our own plans and ambitions that we are truly prepared to look to the Lord.
We wish at this time to quote a text in connection with the subject of this article--a preferred rendering of Philippians 2:6,7, to which scholarship is fully agreed: "Who (the Logos, Jesus) being in the form of God, did not meditate a usurpation to be on an equality with Him, but (contrariwise) made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant."
In this text the Apostle does not specify Satan in contrast with Jesus; yet we may read between the lines that He had in mind the opposite course pursued by Lucifer, who became Satan, and the Logos, who became Christ. The Scriptural record is that Lucifer was one of the highest and most glorious spirit beings-- a cherub. But a sinful ambition took possession of him. Instead of a righteous ambition to serve and honor his Creator, he thought that if he had an empire of his own he could improve upon the Divine order of things. --Isa. 14:12-15.
This ambition ultimately led Lucifer to carry out the program in connection with mankind. Thenceforth he was known as Satan, God's Adversary, "the prince of this world, which now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience." According to the Bible, Satan has been permitted to have a certain degree of liberty, to show what the evil course would be and what its evil results. But according to the Bible he is soon to be restrained for a thousand years, while Messiah's Kingdom will break the shackles of sin and death, and give all the fullest opportunity to return to harmony with God and to attain everlasting life. Ultimately, Satan is to be destroyed, together with all who have his spirit of antagonism to God--insubordination--evil ambition.--Hebrews 2:14.
The Logos Humbled Himself.
Mark the sharp contrast between Satan's course and that of the Logos, the Only Begotten Son of God. The [OV307] latter meditated no such usurpation of Divine authority as Lucifer aimed to attain. On the contrary, He was the very personification of loving obedience and self-abnegation instead of meditating a usurpation to make Himself equal to the Father, He declared, "My Father is greater than I;" "My Father is greater than all;" "I delight to do Thy will, O My God."-- John 14:28; Psa. 40:8.
As in due time Satan found opportunity for manifesting his ambition, so in due time the Logos found opportunity for manifesting His humility and obedience. Man's fall brought the opportunity--the need of a Redeemer. As it was man who was condemned to death, so the redemption of Adam and his race must be accomplished by the death of a man. The death of bulls and goats could be only typical. Neither would an angel be a corresponding price. Hence the Divine proposal to the Logos--that if He would become a man, taking the sinner's nature, but not participating in the sinner's weakness or sin, He might thus be the Redeemer of men and accomplish the Divine will.
Attached to this proposal was the promise that so great a manifestation of love, loyalty and obedience to the Father would receive a great reward --an exaltation to the Divine nature, glory, honor and immortality. Thus Jesus declared that for His faithfulness He had been rewarded by His Father with a place in His Throne.-- Rev. 3:21.
The Lesson of Humility.
Saint Paul was seeking to impress the lesson of humility, as the context shows. Jesus exemplified in His own course of humility the ambition to be and to do just what would be pleasing to the Heavenly Father, not meditating for an instant to grasp Divine glory and honor, and association with the Father in His Throne. He did God's will at the cost of His life-- even the death of the Cross.
And behold God's wonderful grace! He who sought not to usurp the Throne, but who humbled Himself, has been exalted to the right hand of God! What an exemplification of the teachings of God's Word! Did not God declare, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall?" He permitted Satan to be an illustration of just such a result; and this forceful illustration is forceful in its application to all. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."
The Apostle points out that the Heavenly Father who so highly rewarded our Savior's loving obedience, has made a similar proposition to those whom He is calling during this Age to become associates with His Son. If we become dead to the world and lay down our lives in obedience to the Father's will as Jesus did, we shall share His Throne, as He has promised. Justified by faith in our Redeemer's sacrifice, presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, and faithfully persevering in the narrow way, we shall "make our calling and election sure."
"Every Knee Shall Bow."
The Apostle (V. 10) declares that our Master's exaltation, as the result of His humility, is so great that all eventually must recognize Him as Lord of all. Unto Him every knee shall bow of the Heavenly and earthly families. Already the angels acknowledged Him. As we read, the Father saith, "Let all the angels of God worship (acknowledge) Him." The bowing of the earth will come later.
The work of the entire thousand years of Messiah's reign will be for the uplifting of mankind from sin and death. But all those made free will know that their release is due to the great sacrifice which Jesus accomplished in the carrying out of the Divine Plan. And all will know that the Redeemer has been honored of the Father and exalted to the chief [OV308] place. And those reaching perfection will be glad to bow the knee to Him and to confess Him with their tongues.
The Father is Excepted.
We are not to gather from these statements that Jesus, in any sense of the word, will take the place, the glory, the honor, of the Father. Jesus will be hailed as Lord of all, nevertheless it is manifest that He is excepted who put all things thus in subjection to the Son. Saint Paul emphasizes this by telling us (1st Cor. 15:27,28) that it will be the Father's power that will bring everything in subjection to the Son; and that when the Son, in carrying out the Father's most gracious plans, shall have put all things in obedience to Himself, then shall He deliver up the Kingdom to the Father, that the Father may be all in all.
Truly the Divine Program, as stated in the Bible, is beautiful and wonderful. It illustrates to us elements of the Divine character that we never could have appreciated except as man's fall into sin and death gave opportunity for the exercise of Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power. Had there been no sin, no death, there would have been no opportunity for God to manifest His Justice in dealing with the Sinner, no opportunity to manifest His Love for the world in providing that they should be rescued from the power of sin and death. Neither would there have been an opportunity for demonstrating Satan's disloyalty and whereunto it would lead. Neither would there have been an opportunity for testing the Only Begotten of the Father and demonstrating the depth of His love and loyalty even to the death of the Cross, unless sin had been permitted.
Neither would there have been an opportunity for God to show His generosity in dealing with the Logos in His high exaltation to the Divine nature and glory. There would have been no opportunity to show the length, breadth, height and depth of the love of God in lifting the Church from the horrible pit and miry clay of sin and death, justifying them freely through the merit of Christ's sacrifice, inviting them to share in His glory, honor and immortality, and finally bringing the Elect to participation in the Divine nature, and in the great work of Messiah.-- Rev. 2:10,26,27.
Room for Boundless Ambition.
In view of what we have seen of the Divine arrangement there surely is room for exercise of the most boundless ambition imaginable amongst those blest with the hearing ear and the Gospel Message. It would be a great ambition to strive to become kings and queens of the kingdoms of the world. It would be a great ambition to hope to become judges, senators, or the President of the United States. But such ambitions would be as nothing when compared with that set before the believers of God's Word--the ambition to be received by the Great Creator as Sons, partakers of the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord, to a Heavenly inheritance and Kingdom everlasting.
If anyone wants a grand ambition, here is one worth dying for! Indeed, it can be attained only by dying. First must come the death of the will as respects earthly aims, projects, ambitions, etc. Then gradually must come a transformed mind, which rejoices to die daily and to suffer with Christ, if so be that we may be also glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17.) This is the ambition necessary to make true, loyal soldiers of the Cross, willing to endure hardness in the Cause of the Captain of their Salvation, and to lay down life in the service of the King of kings.
A Grand Rush for it.
One might suppose that such a Message would find millions anxious [OV309] and willing to lay hold upon its terms. But no, only a few have faith--and without faith they cannot be pleasing to God. Some have a little faith and render a little obedience, take some steps, refrain from certain sins and seek to walk hand in hand with the Lord--and with mammon. But these make a mistake. There is no promise to joint-heirship with the Savior except by a full cutting loose from the world and by a vital union with God through Christ.
"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear." He that hath a humble heart of obedience, let him lay hold of the promise and attain the greatest of all ambitions. As for others, let them choose the noblest ambitions of which they are capable, assured that in proportion as they are honest and loyal they shall eventually be blest under Messiah's Kingdom.
Whoever has no ambition has not properly begun to live. Ambition implies appreciation of the value of life --a weighing of prospects and possibilities --a decision and a fixed determination of will. Parents and teachers should aim to lift before the mental vision of the young noble ideals, and to assist them in determining what they would copy and which goal they will bend life's energies to reach. To such parents and teachers many of those successful in life refer in terms of endearment, declaring how much they owe to the encouragement of ideals and ambitions to which these assisted them.
Many Woe-Begone Faces.
As we learn to read character and observe people, we perceive that many are wholly without ambition; or that their ambitions are so low and trivial as not to be of real benefit. In a crowd of a thousand people, less than a hundred will show by their faces and their energy that they have an ideal, an ambition, and are pursuing it. In other words, nine-tenths of our poor, fallen race lack the very mainspring of life.
This lack of proper ambition not only makes life a drudgery instead of a pleasure but it is a menace to our social fabric. According to the Bible, it is this nine-tenths of the human family, without lawful ambitions, that will be anarchists, striving to pull down the structure of civilization in a kind of blind fury--the awakening of an ambition which, knowing not how to vent itself, will bring trouble upon all.
Worldly Ambitions Profitable.
It is the ambitious tenth of humanity that cause the wheels of progress to turn. Their ambitions are keeping their own minds actively occupied and are giving employment to the remainder of men. The ambitious mechanic hopes to become an inventor and to rise in the social scale. The ambitious clerk strives for success, hoping to become a successful merchant. The successful merchants, princes and captains of industry take pride in building up vast enterprises, in the erection of monumental edifices, in the construction of great bridges, tunnels, etc. Others have ambitions along professional lines.
There is a general tendency among the ambitionless to view these successful people harshly, to think of their ambitions as purely selfish, giving no credit to the pleasure of an exercise of ambition which the majority cannot appreciate because they have none themselves.
Contrary Thoughts Should Prevail.
Men with ambition leading on to genius should be admired, appreciated; and it should be remembered that they have helped mankind in general to larger conceptions of life and to wider possibilities. We grant, indeed, the necessity for legislation in restraining the rich, and especially trusts and combinations of brain and money which might endanger the liberties and prosperity of the masses. But let us never forget how much we owe to the ambitious men whom we [OV310] seek to restrain from power to crush those of less ambition and less capacity, who are more or less dependent upon them.
As proving that some of our successful men were moved by ambition rather than love of money, we note the fact that, having accumulated vast fortunes some are directing their energies in expending their money in the endowment of colleges, the building of libraries, the financing of political and medical investigations for public weal. Whether their judgment and ours agree, as respects the wisdom of their benefactions, is another matter. They have a right to exercise their own judgments in the use of money which came to them through the exercise of their own brains and ambitions.
We can surely agree that a beautiful library building becomes an incentive for the erection of other beautiful buildings, even though comparatively few of the public make use of the books therein, and prefer the trashy kind. Perhaps some good may also result from the endowment of great colleges, even though they are doing more than anything else to undermine faith in the personal God of the Bible, and thus hastening the great day when anarchy by destroying faith and hope in Messiah's promised Kingdom, which are an offset to the trials and difficulties of the present life.
And if to you or me should come the thought of how much more wisely we could use the money, let us check the thought, remembering that God has not entrusted it to us, and that all our time and thought may be more wisely used in connection with our own stewardship of what talent, influence and money we do possess.
LEAD ME
I DO not ask, dear Lord, that life may be
A pleasant road;
I do not ask that Thou wouldst take from me
Aught of its load;
I do not ask that flowers should always spring
Beneath my feet;
I know too well the poison and the sting
Of things too sweet.
For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead:
Lead me aright,
Tho' strength should falter, and tho' heart should bleed,
Through peace to light.
I do not ask, dear Lord, that Thou shouldst shed
Full radiance here;
Give but a ray of peace, that I may tread
Without a fear;
I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see;
Better, in darkness, just to feel Thy hand,
And follow Thee.
Joy is like restless day, but peace Divine
Like quiet night;
Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine,
Through peace to light.
[OV311]
The Great White Throne; Day of
Judgment Misunderstood
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington
and Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
THE FALSE view of the Day of Judgment began to be introduced in the Second Century and human fear and superstition continually made it worse and worse. The Bible, on the contrary, represented it as a period of glory and blessing. The Psalmist's declaration, calling upon humanity and all creation to rejoice because the Lord would come to judge the earth in righteousness and the poor with equity (Psalm 98:9), is worthy of note.
A Blessed Judgment Day.
According to the Bible, the world's Judgment Day will be the world's time of opportunity for coming to a knowledge of God and then being tried, tested, or judged, as to their willingness to serve and obey God and his righteous government. Those found heartily obedient will be granted everlasting life with every joy and blessing appropriate to man in his perfection. Those rebellious to the light of the righteousness of Jehovah will be destroyed in the Second Death without hope of any future whatever.
That will be the time when all the heathen will have their trial, after they shall all be brought by Messiah's Kingdom to a clear knowledge of the Truth. That will be the one time when the great masses of Christendom will for the first time hear of the real character of God and His requirements of them. Although some of them may have been in churches occasionally and may have seen Bibles, occasionally, nevertheless the eyes of their understanding were darkened. They saw not; they heard not; they understood not. The god of this world blinded them. (2 Corinthians 4:4.)
That Judgment Day, the thousand years of Messiah's Kingdom, will not only bind Satan, but chase away with the glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness all the darkness, superstition and error of the world.
The Church will not be judged during that thousand year Judgment Day because her trial, her judgment, takes place now--during this Gospel Age. The saintly few who will gain the great prize of joint heirship with the Redeemer, Messiah, will be his Queen and sit with him in the Great White Throne of Judgment mentioned in the text; as the Apostle declares, "Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2; Psa. 4:9.)
Former Views Were Erroneous.
Our former and very unreasonable view was that man, "born in sin, shapen in iniquity," depraved in all of his appetites, would be condemned [OV312] of God in the Judgment Day on account of this heredity, and environment, for which he is not responsible. The theory was that the heathen also would be damned in that Judgment Day, because they did not know and did not accept "the only name given under heaven." The theory was also that the masses of civilized society would in that Judgment Day be damned because they would not, and because they did not, live perfectly, notwithstanding their heredity.
Now we see that the death sentence was upon Adam and all of his race, who were in his loins when he sinned. We see that they could not be put on trial a second time until released from the first sentence. We see that their release will be at the Second Coming of Messiah in the glory of his Kingdom, when he shall cause the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth and open all the blinded eyes. Then, because of having satisfied the claims of Justice against the race, the Great Redeemer, as the Mediator of the New Covenant, will grant the world of mankind another judgment or trial--additional to the one given to Adam, in which they all failed and from the penalty of which failure Jesus redeemed them.
True, the measure of light and knowledge now enjoyed and wilfully sinned against will work a corresponding degradation of character; all downward steps will need to be retraced.
"The Great White Throne."
Symbolically, the whiteness of the throne indicates the purity of the justice and judgment which will be meted out by the Great Redeemer as the Messiah-King. The heavens and earth which will flee away from the presence of that throne are not the literal, but the symbolical. The ecclesiastical heavens and the social earth of the present time will not stand in the presence of that August Tribunal. The people will not be judged nationally nor by parliaments and systems in society, but individually. The judgment or trial will not merely test those living at the time of the establishment of the Kingdom, but will include all the dead.
The books of the Bible will then all be opened--understood. All will then see that the Golden Rules laid down by inspiration through Moses and the Prophets, Jesus and his Apostles, are the very ones which God will require of men in the future, and which Messiah will then enable the willing and obedient to comply with by assisting them up out of their sin and degradation. The judgment of that time, the test, will not be of faith, for knowledge will be universal and all the darkness and obscurity created by ignorance and superstition will have passed away. The test at that time will be of works, whereas the tests of the Church at the present time are of faith.
Another Book of Life Opened.
Pastor Russell declared that the Lamb's Book of Life alone is open now, and only those called to be members of the Bride class and who accept the call are written therein. But in the great day of the world's trial or judgment another book of life will be opened. A record will be made of all who, by obedience, show themselves worthy of everlasting life on the human plane, and, if faithful, they will eventually be accepted of the Father to life eternal. All the incorrigible, all those who after the most favorable opportunities, will not give their hearts to the Lord and be obedient to the laws of the Messianic Kingdom "shall be destroyed from amongst the people."--Acts 3:19-21.
[OV313]
HOW AND WHAT TO FIGHT
"The Good Fight"
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"So fight I, not as one that beateth the air."--1 Cor. 9:26. EVERY organ of the human mind is useful, if it be properly directed and controlled. Combativeness, the fighting quality, might at first be supposed to be inimical, even antagonistic, to the proper Christian development--a hindrance and blemish. But this is not the correct thought. The man or woman who does not possess this quality of combativeness to some degree will be unsuccessful in heavenly, spiritual matters, as well as in earthly affairs. True, the Lord pronounces special blessings upon the meek, the peacemakers, the peace lovers, and He calls His people "sheep," and thus implies that they must not be ravenous nor vicious. But, on the other hand, the Lord's call to His people for a separateness of life and opposition to the world, the flesh and the Devil, implies resistant and fighting qualities of mind. He who possesses none of this quality can evidently never be a victor in the "good fight."
The thought of Christian warfare as a continual battle against adverse influences is everywhere prominent in the Scriptures. Our Lord Jesus is styled the "Captain of our Salvation." And the Apostle speaks of his followers as "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" who "fight the good fight," and thus come off "conquerors and more than conquerors, through Him that loved us and bought us with His precious blood."
Good and Bad Combinations.
It is our mental combination that counts. The various members of our mental organism unite, combine their influence, federate, as it were, and thus form personality. Our mental members make one or another of their members chairman or controller of their interests and eternal destiny. Or, perhaps, it is an association of members which control, with one in the ascendency. It is thus that man is a free moral agent and an image of his Creator. It is for this reason that knowledge and wisdom from on High are so very essential to a proper character development.
The whole world may be divided along these lines into two classes, the one guided and controlled by earthly affairs and interests, and the other by heavenly hopes and interests. The former are what the Scriptures term the "natural man," and include many of earth's noblemen, as well as the earthly, sensual, devilish. Those controlled by the heavenly hopes, called the "spirit-begotten," "new creatures," are but a small number, and include some [OV314] gathered from every plane of natural life, noble and ignoble by nature, but all now impulsed by the Holy Spirit, by which they have been begotten again to heavenly hopes, ambitions and aims. A consideration of these two classes may help us to locate ourselves and to determine to what extent, if at all, we desire a change. Let us consider first:
"The Natural Man."
The mistake is too commonly made of supposing that a "natural man" signifies a mean or bad man. Adam was a "natural man," in the image of his creator, and pronounced by the Almighty "very good." His children to-day are all natural men, but fallen in varying directions and degrees, some of them more and some of them less noble, estimable, lovable. Each of these has his own peculiar combination of faculties and has reached his own conclusions, or will, respecting his course in life. The person without a will is like a ship without a rudder, a derelict carried by winds and currents, but lacking individuality. No one should be content to remain in such a condition. The will should be formulated and put into control. Life should be realized to be the valuable asset, and should be used accordingly, with the best wisdom or judgment which the individual can command.
Looking amongst people of this class we behold some noble, benevolent, reverential, the world's wise, the great and good--though we must not for a moment suppose that they have no faults, no blemishes, no weaknesses, which they should also be seeking to conquer. Such noble men and women are often mistakenly called Christians and thought to be regenerate by those who do not clearly comprehend the difference between the "Natural Man" and the "New Creature" in Christ Jesus. These are "Natural" because their thoughts, ambitions and efforts, though noble, are earthly, not heavenly --not spiritual. The fact that they attend church service and appreciate music, sermons and prayer, proves nothing; because all natural men should esteem these things and appreciate them, as the first perfect man unquestionably did, and as restored humanity undoubtedly will in the future.
The other extreme of the "natural man" is sensual, vicious, devilish. He possesses some good traits and abilities, but as a whole is wrong, because he has put the wrong combination of faculties into the place of control in his life. A change of control, a new will, conformed to justice, would make a new man of him--not the same as the man of nobler natural constitution, but nevertheless a nobler man than he is at present. But such a change or conversion of the will from a course of evil would not, of necessity, signify that the individual had ceased to be a "natural man" and had become a "new creature," spirit-begotten.
Spirit-Begotten New Creatures.
A "new creature," from the Spiritual standpoint, is one to whom old things, both good and bad, have passed away, and all things have become new. Such an one may have been a noble, natural man, as above described, or a less noble, or a most degraded natural man. The change may take place regardless of the moral station of the individual. Reasonings and philosophies may and do effect the "natural man"--sometimes favorably and sometimes unfavorably --but these do not produce the change from natural to spiritual, from earthly to heavenly nature. This change comes from only one source, and only to persons in one condition of mind or heart. It comes from on High. It is superhuman, and in its effect it is revolutionary. It comes to those who, because of natural humility of mind, realize themselves to be sinners, and, with natural conscientiousness and veneration, desire to approach their Creator and to obtain His favor and forgiveness of sins, and who thus are led to accept Christ as their personal Savior and Deliverer from sin.
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Or it may come to others naturally less tender of heart, through sorrows and sufferings and heart-breaking experiences, leading them to look for the Friend above all others and to accept His proffered forgiveness and guidance. These experiences, accompanied by a turning from sin, with a desire to live soberly and righteously, bring such characters to the place which the Scriptures designate justification by Faith. Still, however, they are not "new creatures." The word justification implies making right, and does not imply making over, or a change of nature. It is the human nature that is justified or reckoned right in God's sight, because of faith in the precious blood of Jesus, the Redeemer. Another step must be taken before the change of nature can take place--the step of consecration, of devoting life, time, aims, ambitions, all, to the Lord and to His service.
It is to such only that the blessing of the Holy Spirit from Above is granted. Its effect in their hearts is the opening of the eyes of their understanding to new hopes and prospects and interests--not earthly, but heavenly. These become deeply interested in "the things which God hath in reservation for them that love Him"--the things which the natural eye hath not seen and the natural ear hath not heard, neither have entered into the natural heart.--1 Cor. 2:9.
Many natural ears have heard something about spiritual things, but they never really understood or appreciated these things. They have seen that there is this spiritual something, but the details of it they cannot discern any more than the natural sight can discern the conditions prevailing on the moon, though the moon be seen often. The "New Creatures" begin a newness of life--living in the future and for the future. They count all earthly things but as loss and dross, that they may win and share with Christ in the spiritual realm. Necessity, indeed, still compels them to provide things earthly, decent and honest for their families and themselves, but aside from these proprieties, they are dead to the world's ambitions, hopes and aims, because they have seen with their new eyes and their spiritual understanding through the telescope of God's Word, the Bible, wonderful things, grand beyond description and beyond the comprehension of the earthly mind. They are rich with the heavenly riches and daily becoming wiser with heavenly wishes and more thoroughly copies of their Redeemer if they follow on to know the Lord.
Different Fights--Different Fighters.
It will be readily discerned that there must be a great difference in all the affairs of these two classes--the "natural man" (better and worse) and the "New Creature" in Christ Jesus (more or less developed.) But what we wish now to impress is the weighty influence of the mental attitude, in respect to these. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." He may think one thing and strive to do another thing, but he will find it a difficult contract, and ultimately it will prove a failure. This Scripture should never be misinterpreted, as it is by some, to mean that if one thinks a thing right, that makes it right. No; it signifies that the mental determination or will represents the real man, from the Divine standpoint, whatever his weaknesses or blemishes or good traits; and whether he be an "old creature" or a "New Creature," this principle prevails. He cannot live above or beyond his will, his intention, his mental desires. How all-important, then, it is that both the "natural man" and the New Creature in Christ should have the will properly poised, balanced and fixed upon a righteous basis.
Although the Scriptures are addressed almost exclusively to the New Creatures, they nevertheless incidentally mark out lines of wisdom appropriate to the "natural man." His standards of justice should be nothing less than the Golden Rule--to do unto others as he wishes them to do unto him, under similar conditions. He [OV316] must be merciful, as he would wish them to be merciful; gentle and kind, as he would wish them to be gentle and kind. His business, his pleasures, his home relationship, should all be gauged by high standards of justice. If heretofore he has been allowing the baser and lower qualities of his mind to dominate him, he should see that this is a wrong course, and change it forthwith. Instead of allowing the lower, sensual appetites to control, he should have a mental re-election and vote into office and control the higher qualities of his mind, represented by the organs of conscientiousness, benevolence and the esthetic tastes, and should give these rule or authority over his meaner, baser nature, as it was originally in the perfect man, and as is indicated by the higher position of the nobler organs of the mind in the brain structure. The thing necessary is to reach the decision that the higher organs shall control, and the lower ones be subservient.
The Fight of the New Creature.
The conversion or turning of even a decent "natural man" from a life controlled by selfishness to one controlled by justice and mercy is apt to be a strenuous fight. The lower faculties of the mind will continually seek to assert themselves and to regain their old control of the life which will thereafter be one of discussion between the higher ideals and the lower ones. The fight in the case of the more meanly born natural man is a more severe one, and generally results in his dissatisfaction because the lower qualities of his being are so strong that his will for righteousness, mercy and generosity is usually overridden, his conscience bruised and dissatisfied. He cries in his heart, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the power and domination of my body, which is dead in trespasses and sin, in evil propensities?" There is no relief for either of these extremes, nor for the intermediates of these natural men who desire to thoroughly abandon sin and live righteously, soberly and godly. The warfare is a continual one, and it is little by little that he gains, even temporarily, a victory.
The Apostle represents himself in the condition of this natural man, desiring righteousness and unable to attain it because of his own weaknesses and his evil environment, and then he gives us the key, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this dead body?" He replies, "I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (Rom. 7:25.) The deliverance comes through a full surrender to Christ in harmony with the same Apostle's appeal, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."--Rom. 12:1.
It will be noticed that the Apostle does not address sinners, but "brethren." They are counted brethren from the time they turn from sin and accept by faith Divine forgiveness through the merit of Christ's sacrifice. None but justified believers are thus privileged to present themselves or to be sacrifices upon the Lord's altar. All by nature are sinners, and not until the sins are reckonedly purged away through faith in the redeeming blood can the offering be accepted.
With the acceptance of the offering of the believer comes his begetting of the Holy Spirit, as a spiritual son of God and joint-heir with Jesus--to heirship in the Millennial Kingdom. These spirit-begotten ones have thenceforth a totally different standing before God. They are viewed as without sin, because the weaknesses of the flesh belong to the old nature, which was sacrificed. The New Creature, begotten of the Holy Spirit, is holy, pure, heavenly, in its desires and aspirations. It feeds upon the "bread from heaven," and is blessed with the peace of God which passeth [OV317] all human understanding. It is embryotic, however, and develops, grows in grace and knowledge.
"Renewed Day by Day."
Speaking of the conflict, the fight, of these New Creatures, the Apostle indicates that it is chiefly with their own flesh. The new will is begotten in the old frame, or body, and needs a reorganization of the government of the man, by which his rule of life is not only taken away from the baser faculties to the higher ones, as when he was justified through faith and turned from sin, but it means much more. It means the placing of the control outside of himself entirely-- the acceptance of Christ as his Head as well as his Redeemer.
Henceforth for him to live is Christ --as a member of the Body of Christ. This class everywhere throughout the world may be Scripturally considered as The Christ in the flesh, because His Spirit dwells in them--His mind controls them. In this sense of the word, be it observed, the "flesh" of Christ is still in the world, and the Spirit or mind of Christ is still ruling it. In this larger thought "the sufferings of The Christ" are still in progress, for, as the Apostle suggests, "All these are daily dying"--taking up their cross and following after their Lord and Head. By and by the sufferings of this present time will be ended--the last "member of the Body of Christ" will have died, will have passed beyond the veil, will have been "changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye," in the First Resurrection. Shortly thereafter the Kingdom of glory will be inaugurated and "the reign of Sin and death" will be brought to an end; and the binding of Satan will take place, and the blessing of all the families of the earth will begin.
The battle of the New Creature is one of the principal topics of the New Testament. It tells that his battle is to be unto victory, if he is faithful-- if he will continue loyal to his covenant of sacrifice; because the Lord stands pledged to give him needed grace and strength and to bring him off "more than conqueror." It tells who are his foes, namely, the flesh and the devil.
SHOW ME THY FACE
SHOW me Thy face--one transient gleam
Of loveliness Divine,
And I shall never think or dream
Of other love than Thine;
All other lights will darken quite,
All lower glories wane,
The beautiful of earth will scarce
Seem beautiful again.
Show me Thy face--the heaviest cross
Will then seem light to bear,
There will be gain in every loss,
And peace with every care.
With such light feet the years will fleet,
Life seem as brief as blest,
Till I have laid my burden down,
And entered into rest.
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Messiah's Fast Approaching Kingdom
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness, and Princes shall rule in judgment."--Isaiah 32:1. COMING events cast their shadows before. Startling shadows are all about us. A great change in the affairs of men is indicated and acknowledged by all thoughtful, intelligent people. The world's pace during the past fifty years astonishes everybody. New conditions meet us on every hand. The majority of books written half a century ago along scientific lines are considered rubbish to-day. Rules and customs and theories of the past, supposed to be immovable and absolute, are abandoned as worthless--in chemistry, in manufactures, in art, in finance and commerce. All these changes necessitate a new view of social conditions and a re-examination of the relationship of religion and the Bible to man and his conditions, as seen from the present viewpoint.
The business and social world have been compelled to keep pace with the steps of progress; some of them have yielded gladly and some of them reluctantly. But religionists have been placed in a most awkward position. Religion and moral sense constitute the backbone and fibre of the best progress in civilization. The perplexity of religious thought, and its manifest inability to adjust itself to the changed conditions, is working a serious disadvantage to all disposed to look to the Almighty for guidance in life's affairs.
The increase in worldly wisdom, the improved human conditions, the advancement along scientific lines, in material prosperity, have turned many of the world's brightest intellects away from God and from the Bible. Many of these, still professing Christianity in an outward, formal manner, have really abandoned it in favor of a theory of "civilization." They have wandered from the Divine Revelation, the Bible, into paths of speculation-- their own and other men's. They have cogitated that the reverse of the Bible statements is the Truth--that instead of man falling from the image of God into sin and death, he is rising from a brute or monkey plane upward, gradually, to Divine heights. Instead of looking for a great Deliverer, Messiah, Savior, Life-Giver, they are hoping to be let alone by any outside influence, that certain fancied laws of Evolution may help them upward and onward to glory, honor and immortality.
The result is that religious thought to-day everywhere and in all denominations, is chaotic. The whole of Christendom has practically become agnostic--admitting that they do not know the Truth nor how to adjust their reasoning faculties to present conditions. They are in an expectant attitude--seeking light. Nevertheless many fear the light lest it make manifest cherished errors or selfish hopes and ambitions which must be abandoned. But they are still pretending to know many things which we and they know that they do not know. Daily the strain becomes more intense. Gradually everybody is recognizing that a great crisis is impending along every line--that the people are awakening and thinking, and will no longer receive errors, as formerly.
Converting the World to God.
Fifty years ago Christian people, full of faith in the Bible, which they seriously misunderstood and read with sectarian spectacles of various colors, were fully agreed that God had given His Church the commission to convert the whole world and to establish Messiah's Kingdom, when the nations would learn war no more, but beat [OV319] their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Zealous Christian people urged that the heathen were going down to a hell of eternal torment at the rate of ninety thousand every twenty-four hours.
Noble men and women sacrificed their earthly interests for the assistance of the heathen--to prevent that awful catastrophe, to help the very program of God which some other Christian people of an earlier day had declared was predestinated and foreordained as unalterable. Good was certainly attempted--we trust that some good was accomplished. We know that some harm was done, in that fallacious conceptions of the character and plan of the Creator were promulgated amongst the heathen, which have hardened and embittered some of them.
But by and by, practical people sought for statistics, and now know that there are twice as many heathen in the world as there were a century ago. Of course, there are unthinking and unstatistical people who refuse knowledge, and who are to-day claiming with a commendable zeal, but a reprehensible ignorance, that large contributions of money would enable them to capture the whole world for God. Nevertheless, the masses no longer see the matter as they did, and can no longer be swayed to the same extent. Thinking people refuse to believe that God for centuries has sat calmly viewing the situation, allowing millions to go to eternal torment. They refuse to believe that their hearts and sympathies are more tender than those of their Creator.
Even the heathen are getting awake to the inconsistency of what has been given them under the Gospel label. They are finding out that the word Gospel signifies "good tidings," and that what has been preached to them is the most awful message conceivable --that all of the heathen and the majority of their civilized neighbors and friends and relatives have been decreed, sentenced, foreordained, to eternal torture because of ignorance, because of a misbelief in respect to which they were thoroughly honest. Perplexed, the missionaries ask, What shall we preach? The message of Damnation does not sound good to the heathen, and they do not run after it nor feast their souls upon it.
The question comes to the ministers and professors of colleges throughout Christendom, and they are perplexed what answer to give. The majority of them have become Higher Critics and no longer accept the Bible as the Word of God; they are Evolutionists and no longer believe the Gospel which the Missionary societies were organized to proclaim. They are in perplexity, and many of them are prepared to abandon the former theory of Missions, and to continue their work henceforth merely along humanitarian lines. Indeed, within the last twenty-five years missionary effort has turned gradually to secular education and medical practice in the interest of the heathen, with little religious doctrine --and so much the better.
Everybody is agreed that the Kingdom of Messiah cannot be brought about by the wholesale conversion of the world. And logical people see that larger numbers have been lost to Christianity in civilized lands during the last twenty-five years than were ever claimed to be converted amongst the heathen. We say lost to Christianity, because why should any one be called a Christian who has lost all faith in the Bible--in the Law, the Prophets and the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles?
The great cloud of bewilderment which encompasses Christendom is realized by all earnest people-- churchmen and others. And no wonder there is a certain dread associated with the dark cloud! People are wondering What kind of a storm will result? And what will be the effect upon the great religious systems of civilization? It is to join hands against these ominous conditions that the clergy of all denominations have aroused themselves in favor of Church union, or Federation. But the people [OV320] feel comparatively little interest in the proposition, which they will not oppose, however.
The difficulty with the present situation is that we have stupidly and blunderingly misread the Bible. We have twisted what we did read and picked out certain portions which best pleased our fancies and supported best our various creeds. We have neglected the honest, truthful study which we should have given to our Heavenly Father's Message. The confusion of Christendom is the result. This confusion and perplexity the Scriptures portray, assuring us that we are in the midst of a great falling away from faith in God and in His Revelation. We see fulfilled all about us the wonderful prophetic and symbolic picture of Psalm 91. A thousand fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand--only the "Israelites indeed," in whom there is no guile, will be kept from stumbling in this evil day. The chaos, which we already see everywhere in evidence, is only beginning.
God's Great Remedy at Hand.
The fault of Christendom has been the rejection of the Divine Plan and the acceptance instead of a human plan. The Church was going to convert the world--going to "conquer the world for Jesus" and present it to Him as a trophy! Alas! we have not been able to convert ourselves, which is the particular work the Master gave us to do. Greater humility would have shown us our folly long ago.
Bible students do not need to be reminded that all through the Old Testament Scriptures God's promises abound, telling Israel and all who have ears to hear of the glorious reign of Messiah and of the success of His Kingdom, and how the result will be that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God;" how "all the blind eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped;" how the blessing of the Lord will be with Israel, restored to His favor, and operate through Israel to the blessing of all peoples. We remember the prophecies which picture earthly governments and show us their termination and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on their ruins. We remember the Jubilee picture repeated by the Israelites every fiftieth year, proclaiming liberty for the people, and typifying restitution of all that has been lost through sin, and which is to be restored through Messiah's Kingdom.
Bible students know also how the New Testament abounds with references to the Kingdom! the Kingdom! the Kingdom! Nearly all the parables that our Lord gave were in illustration of something connected with the Kingdom or the class called out of the world to inherit the spiritual Kingdom. All such know, too, that the Great Teacher proclaimed that Kingdom and taught us and all of His followers to pray, "Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven!" They all know, too, that all of the Apostles refer to that Kingdom and point the Church to its establishment for the realization of her hopes --the time when the "marriage of the Lamb" will take place--the time when God's New Covenant with Israel will go into effect. The time when He who scattered Israel will also gather them, and when the Law shall go forth from Mt. Zion, the Celestial Kingdom, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem, the Capital of the earthly Princes. God's remedy is just what humanity is coming to realize it needs. In its establishment, as the Scriptures declare, "the desire of all nations shall come."--Haggai 2:7.
Bible students are more and more coming to see that this Gospel Age is the time in which Messiah is selecting from amongst men--of Jews and Gentiles --a saintly class, and is testing and proving their loyalty to God and to righteousness. These are to be Messiah's assistants--the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. As Abraham typified the Heavenly Father, so the Messiah was typified by Isaac. And Messiah's Bride and joint-heir and co-laborer in His Kingdom was typified by Rebecca. [OV321] Thus seen the great Plan of God has progressed well.
Our neglect of the Word of God and our study instead of the Talmud and the Creeds of the Dark Ages have been our undoing. Under all this wrong influence we have failed to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit-- meekness, gentleness, patience, longsuffering, brotherly kindness, love. Instead, we cultivate pride, ambition, selfishness. We have done those things which we ought not to have done, and we have left undone those things which we ought to have done. Our help must come from God. According to our understanding of the Scriptures, help is near, but coming in an unexpected way. Pride and selfishness have blossomed and brought forth a fruitage of strife. The bad example set by Christian people has extended to the world, and has been thoroughly appropriated. It has become the spirit of the world--of all classes.
The Great Day of Wrath.
Now, as faith in the Bible is waning and respect for God and His Word is proportionately waning, what could we expect but that which the Scriptures declare is at hand, namely, the "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation?" The selfishness which both rich and poor, learned and ignorant, have cultivated will, in that time of trouble, be represented in conflicts between labor unions and capitalistic trusts. The Bible declares that then "every man's hand will be against his neighbor"--all confidence will be lost--the bond of human sympathy and brotherhood will be utterly snapped in riotous selfishness.
The Scriptures identify this trouble with Messiah's taking to Himself His Kingdom power and beginning his reign. (Daniel 12:1; Revelation 11:18.) Thank God! The intimations of the Scriptures are that the conflict of that time will be short. It must, however, last long enough to teach humanity a lesson never to be forgotten--that God and His arrangements must stand first and must be obeyed, if blessing is sought.
When it is remembered that Messiah's Kingdom is not only to bless those living at the time of its establishment, but gradually to awaken the dead from the slumber of the tomb, and to give all of our race a full opportunity for attaining life eternal or death eternal, then it will be seen that the Kingdom must be a spiritual one. Then, too, Messiah's Kingdom of Light is represented as superseding Satan's Kingdom of Darkness--both spiritual. With this thought our text is in full accord--"A King shall reign in righteousness." (Messiah will be that Great King, His Bride being associated with Him.) And "Princes shall execute judgment in the earth," carrying out the decrees and regulations of the Heavenly Messiah. This is the meaning of the Lord's promise to Israel, "I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning."--Isaiah 1:26.
The Princes who will execute judgment will all be Israelitish and all perfect men--tried and approved of God. They will be the Ancient Worthies --Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Prophets. These men, great in faith and obedience to God, will be known to the Jews as the "fathers," as the prophecy respecting them declares, "Instead of the fathers shall be the children, whom Thou (Messiah) mayest make Princes in all the earth." They will be the children of Messiah in the sense that they will derive their resurrection life from Him, the Great King. Indeed, the Scriptures assure us that eventually the whole world shall receive new life from Messiah, in offset to the life received from Adam--forfeited through sin. Thus amongst the various titles of Messiah mentioned by the prophets we find that He will be the "Age-lasting Father," as well as the "Prince of Peace and mighty Elohim and the wonderful Counselor. "Of the increase of His Government and Peace there shall be no end."--Isaiah 9:6,7.
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Imminence of Christ's Kingdom
Pastor Russell's Answer to Those Who Doubt the Possibility of the Early Establishment of Christ's Millennial Kingdom--to Those Who Say that First Elijah, the Prophet, or Teacher, shall be Sent of God and Recognized in the World.
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Behold, I will send you Elijah, the Prophet, before the coming of the great and notable day of the Lord; and He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."-- Malachi 4:5,6. KNOWING that we are teaching the imminence of the establishment of Christ's Millennial Kingdom, some are inclined to doubt the possibility of its establishment until first Elijah, the prophet, or teacher, shall be sent of God and recognized in the world. We are queried on the subject, What do you believe respecting Elijah? In what direction should we look for the promised Elijah? We reply that no human being fills the picture, the demands, the requirements of the prophecy. The fulfillment must be looked for on a much larger scale, a much grander scale.
John the Forerunner of Jesus.
In order to gain a comprehensive view of the matter, we look back to the Lord's First Advent, and there see John the Baptist doing a work in the Jewish Church, introducing to it Jesus in the flesh. Jesus said of John the Baptist, "This is the Elias, if we can receive it." (Matthew 11:14.) That is to say, John the Baptist was acting among the Jewish household of faith in the power and spirit of Elijah, who was to follow. His relationship to the future Elijah, the greater Elijah, was very similar to the relationship of our Lord Jesus to the greater Christ. By this, we mean that our Lord Jesus at His first advent presented Himself to the Jews as the Messiah, knowing in advance that He would be rejected by them; knowing that He would be crucified; knowing that He would be raised from the dead on the third day, and forty days later would ascend up on high to appear in the presence of God on our behalf; knowing that He would be absent from the world for more than eighteen centuries; knowing that in this interim the Holy Spirit would select from both Jews and Gentiles a "little flock" to constitute His associates in the Kingdom--a little flock as the Bride of Christ, or otherwise known as the members of His Body, of which He is head; knowing that when the full number of members had been selected the second advent would take place, accompanied by the glorification of The Christ, Jesus and His members, and followed by the establishment of the "Kingdom of God under the whole heavens," blessing all the families of the earth.
Our understanding is that the work of John the Baptist at our Lord's first advent was merely a foreshadowing, or illustration, of the greater work of the [OV323] greater Elijah, whose ministry is to introduce the second advent of Christ and the church in glory.
We have seen that John the Baptist served the purpose of Elijah to as many of the Jews as were "Israelites indeed"--so many of them as could and did receive Jesus as the Messiah; but the work of John was far from accomplishing the great things predicted of "Elijah, the Prophet," mentioned in our text. Nevertheless, in every particular there was some measure of likeness between John and the true antitypical Elijah. For instance, he failed to establish unity and harmony in Israel as respects the relationship of the people to their God; he failed to do a mediatorial work except for a few. The masses were not prepared by his message, and as a consequence there came upon that typical nation a judgment of the Lord, a time of trouble such as they had never previously had. This foreshadows also the fact that the antitypical Elijah will similarly fail to establish peace and harmony and righteousness and relationship between God and man in the earth, and that consequently this Age will end, as did the Jewish Age, with a Time of Trouble.
The Church in the Flesh is Elijah.
We wish to lay before your minds a word-picture of the great Elijah mentioned in the text. It is the Church in the flesh this side the veil--even as the church in glory the other side of the veil--is The Christ. We make the statement first and give the demonstration of its truthfulness afterward. Christ in the flesh, the Apostles in the flesh and all the faithful of the Lord's people throughout the Gospel Age during their earthly career and their living representatives now in the world are fulfilling the work ascribed to Elijah. They have been endeavoring to bring about harmony, reconciliation and fellowship between God and His people. God Himself has laid the foundation of the reconciliation in the sacrifice of His Son, and the Apostle declares that He has made us "able ministers" of His Word, as though God did beseech men by us to be reconciled to Him. Our Lord Jesus began this work while in the flesh, and He personally was the Head of this great Elijah, His Church in the flesh, which during nearly nineteen centuries now has been laboring together under His supervision to bless the world, to reconcile the world for so many as were willing to hear and to heed.
It was not prophesied that Elijah would have success. On the contrary, the mere statement that if his labors were not successful in bringing about reconciliation this "curse" would follow, implies the probability of the latter. Other Scriptures, other prophecies, show us most distinctly that the Lord had foreknown and foretold through the prophets that the great Time of Trouble would surely come. Note, for instance, the words of Zephaniah, the prophet: "Wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until I rise up to the prey, for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy"-- the fire of Divine anger, the just punishment for the wrong course taken by those who had been so highly favored of the Lord in respect to knowledge of the divine character and plan. This figurative declaration of the intensity of the trouble with which this present age will terminate, and which will inaugurate the new dispensation, fully agrees with the statement of our text, that if Elijah's message went unheeded, did not succeed in converting mankind, then a curse, a great trouble, would be sent upon them by the Lord, with the view to teaching them the necessary lesson which they would not learn otherwise.
That the curse, the trouble, the fire of that day, will be effective and will yield blessed results is distinctly shown by the same prophet, Zephaniah, for through him the Lord immediately adds: "Then will I turn unto [OV324] the people a pure language (a pure message), that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." (Zephaniah 3:8,9.) The scourging, the curse, the time of trouble, the symbolic fire, will accomplish for mankind in short time what the message of Elijah failed to accomplish.
A Time of Trouble.
Daniel the prophet (12:1) also refers to this "curse," or time of trouble with which this Gospel Age will end. He speaks of it as "a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation," and tells us that it will occur at the second coming of Christ, when He shall "stand up," assume authority in the beginning of His reign. The same thought is given us in Revelation, where we are distinctly told that our Lord will take unto Himself His great power and reign, and at that time the nations will be angry and God's wrath will come upon them, and that they shall be broken in pieces as a potter's vessel under the rule of Messiah's "iron rod" of inflexible justice. (Rev. 11:15-18.) The Apostle Paul also notes the coming of this "curse" as a sure thing, and declares that our Lord, at His second advent, shall be revealed "in flaming fire, taking vengeance" --symbolic fire, it is true--a symbol of the destructive force which will be exercised against everything that shall oppose the laws of Messiah's Kingdom. Again he tells us: "The fire of that day shall try every man's work of what sort it is."--2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Corinthians 3:13.
The Apostle James, also guided by the Holy Spirit, foreknew that the Elijah class would not be successful in its endeavor to bring about a reconciliation, and that the result would be a "time of trouble." The Apostle Peter also tells us of this great curse which shall come upon the world in the end of this Gospel Age because of the failure of the mission of "Elijah" --because the antitypical Elijah, the Church in the flesh, fails to establish righteousness and love on the earth, fails to bring about reconciliation.
As we look out into the world we are surprised how little has been accomplished by the Lord's faithful followers. Their work has merely gathered the Elijah class and witnessed to the remainder of the world. And this, indeed, was all the Lord intended for this age, as various Scriptures show us. He foreknew the meagreness of results that would follow all our efforts.
"Every Man's Hand Against His
Neighbor."
We do, indeed, see a spread of the humanitarian sentiment throughout the world. We are glad to note that a larger number of people than ever before possess some measure of sympathy for one another, evidenced by the hospitals and public homes and public schools and infirmaries, etc. Nevertheless, if we were to credit all these to purely Christian sentiment we should probably err. On the contrary, we are bound to assume from the knowledge we have on the subject that a measure of selfishness runs through all these various benevolences.
As for the hospitals, there is more or less pride on the part of medical men in connection with their establishment; and as for their support, it comes largely through the public purse --through the appropriations of the State Treasury; and as for the benevolent sentiments which lie back of such appropriations for buildings, maintenance, etc., we are not to forget that the politicians who vote the moneys pay comparatively little of the taxes, and that they are influenced in large measure by a desire to curry favor among a majority of their constituents, and to some extent by architects and builders, who hope to make some profit out of the contracts, and by some who hope to obtain for themselves positions of influence or advantage in connection with the administration of benevolences.
[OV325]
Thus, while wishing to give all proper credit for the benevolent spirit of our times, which is very great, we see that it would be a mistake not to notice that selfishness also has a hand in the benevolences. Besides, we live in a day when many wealthy people have more money than they know what to do with, in a day when some who profess Buddhism and not Christianity, are giving millions for the endowment of schools, the building of libraries and supplying church organs. We must remember that the mental organization of the natural man contains the organ of benevolence and also the organ of approbativeness, and to such it would be but the natural thing to use money in such a manner as would bring comfort or advantage to others and honor to himself.
But as we look out over the world, we not only see that it is not converted after nearly nineteen centuries of the preaching of the Gospel, with more or less admixture of error, but we see what is still more discouraging as respects the conversion of the world, namely, that the one-fourth of the human family, accredited with being of Christian faith, furnishes probably nine-tenths of all the murders, suicides and crimes of every character committed in the world.
Is the World's Conversion Hopeless?
We are not claiming that this is the result of Christianity; we are not claiming that the false teachings of the sects favor any of these misdoings. What we do claim is that these facts prove that the knowledge of the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, affects favorably only a small proportion who come in contact with it, and that among that favorably affected portion a comparatively few are saints, who in their earthly life are members of the great antitypical Elijah, whose lives are devoted to the promulgation of the Gospel, and doing all in their power to turn men from sin to righteousness, to harmony with the Lord.
Those who tell us that the world is rapidly being converted and that soon the Lord's Prayer will be fulfilled, which says, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven"--these dear friends are surely closing their eyes to the plain facts of the case. Can they not see that if God's will were done as fully in all parts of the earth as in the most moral and law-abiding cities in the world--the condition would still be far from that described in the Lord's prayer? Is God's will done in any city as it is done in Heaven? Surely not! If the Elijah-class, the Church in the flesh, could accomplish such a conversion of the whole world as would bring all to the condition of the citizens of any community, the world would still be in the very condition which would call forth the great curse, the Time of Trouble, as necessary to the ushering in of the Kingdom of God's dear Son.
But not only so: Cast your mind backward to where the Gospel first was preached. Look at Jerusalem; look at Antioch; look at the cities of Asia Minor, at Corinth, at Rome, where the Gospel was first successfully planted, and what do we see? We see that almost every spark of true religion, true Christianity, has died out in all these places. What, then, could we hope for in respect to the world in general? If we could establish Christianity in every quarter of the globe, in every city and town and village and hamlet, not only would they still be far from the condition mentioned in Our Lord's prayer, but we have no assurance of their remaining even in that moderate condition for any length of time.
No; what we need is the Second Coming of our Master and the establishment of His Kingdom, not only in great Glory, but also in great power-- the forcible establishment of righteousness in the earth. The world will need what the Lord has promised for that glorious Millennial Reign, namely, that full assistance will be granted to all who will then desire it--full Restitution power to lift up again out of [OV326] sin and degradation, mental, moral and physical, and to bring back to original perfection all who will.
Elijah in Prophecy.
Not directly, but indirectly, Elijah is shown in the New Testament to have been a type of the Gospel Church, his experiences typifying our experiences. For instance, he was persecuted because of his fidelity to the Truth. The Church also experiences such persecution.
Elijah's principal persecutor was Jezebel, the wicked Queen of Israel, who is mentioned by name as the type of the enemy of the saints. (Revelation 2:20.) As Jezebel's persecuting power was exercised through her husband, the king, so Papacy's persecuting power was exercised through the Roman Empire to which she was joined. As Elijah fled from Jezebel into the wilderness, where he was miraculously nourished by the Lord, so the true Church was led symbolically into the wilderness of isolation, but was miraculously sustained by God and her life was not permitted to be utterly destroyed. As Elijah was three and one-half years in the wilderness --and during that time there was no rain and a great famine prevailed-- so the Church was three and one-half symbolic days, or 1,260 literal years, in the wilderness condition, during which time there was a spiritual famine and thirst because of lack of Truth, the Living Water, the Bread of Life.
As Elijah, at the close of the three and a half years, returned from the wilderness and manifested the errors of Jezebel's priests, so the true Church at the close of the 1,260 years again came into prominence, since which time a great blessing of refreshment has come to the world, and Bibles at the rate of millions of copies every year are spread broadcast.
King Ahab and his people at first rejoiced that Elijah and his God were honored, but the spirit of Jezebel remained unchanged; she again sought Elijah's life, and he again was compelled to flee into the wilderness. So with the corresponding blessings here: the world in general does not recognize the Lord's hand in them. The Jezebel principle and spirit, not only in Papacy, but also in Protestantism, will doubtless, as soon as the Federation now proposed shall be effected, persecute the Lord's true followers, the Elijah-class, and cause them again to flee into the wilderness, as did Elijah their type.
As Elijah's career ended by his being taken from the earth, so when the saints shall all have been changed from earthly to heavenly conditions, this will be the end of the Elijah-class. Its work will have been accomplished in its own development and in the witnessing it has done before the world. How it has witnessed, and what its Message in the world has been, and what its work as the Christ on the other side of the veil will be, we leave for consideration at a later time.
ENDURANCE
YET nerve thy spirit to the proof,
And blanch not at thy chosen lot.
The timid good may stand aloof,
The sage may frown--yet faint thou not.
Nor heed the shaft so surely cast,
The foul and hissing bolt of scorn;
For with thy side shall dwell at last
The victory of endurance born.
[OV327]
The Miraculous Birth of Jesus
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
IT IS NOT strange that men should question the teaching of the Bible respecting the miraculous birth of Jesus. Voltaire, Paine, Ingersoll and others have denied it. Nor do we question the right of Rev. Dr. Aked and others of to-day to take up the same arguments. We live in a free country. Candor in our day need not lead anybody to the stake. We rejoice in these liberties.
But we are surprised that Dr. Aked should still claim to be a Christian, and still retain the pastorate of a Christian Church, while denying the very foundation of the Christian religion. Our amazement grows when we learn that after he had frankly acknowledged his unbelief, he was elected to be the head of the Church Federation in San Francisco.
Think of the meaning of the votes of more than two-thirds of that Federation (75), agreeing that Jesus was not supernaturally born! Less than one-third of these Federationists (23) believe the fundamental doctrine of Christianity!
We can hear these learned gentlemen remonstrate, saying, Pastor Russell, you should realize that there are two Christianities in our day. We belong to the newer and larger one, which has the backing of all the colleges. We, therefore, have first right to the name Christian. The old view, which you uphold, has doctrines of human depravity--of a Divine sentence, which must be met by the death of a perfect, sinless Savior. We "Modernists" still hold to Christ, but as a great Teacher--not a Redeemer. Your old view deals with personal sin. Our newer, broader view deals with national and civic sins, and their cure, and with a gradual evolution of the race to perfection and everlasting life --only the fittest surviving.
A Responsibility Upon the Ministry.
Were numbers and influence the sole criterion by which Christianity is to be discerned, we might be forced to concede the point. But they are not. Christianity was established by Jesus and His Apostles. The unbelief of few or many cannot change Christianity. If we prove our point, we shall hope that the seventy-five believers in the Christianity (?) of the colleges will realize that in retaining the name Christian and holding pastorates in Christian churches, they are sailing under false colors; they should resign or induce their congregations to unite with them in some new name, such as "Humanitarians."
Merely to endorse a few of Jesus' teachings, such as the Golden Rule, while rejecting His other teachings, does not give any one the right to the name Christian. Plato, Confucius and other sages uttered some teachings which we approve. Why not adopt their names? Is it because they are less popular in our day? ***
Dr. Aked admits that St. Matthew gives the line of Joseph, who adopted [OV328] Jesus as his foster-child--the Son of his virgin wife by Divine power. He admits that St. Luke gives the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He admits, also, that St. John's Gospel tells of the prehuman existence of Jesus.
But Dr. Aked challenges proof that Jesus Himself claimed a supernatural birth. He boldly declared that St. Peter never refers to it. He exultantly points us to the Epistles of St. Paul, as not teaching that Jesus was a supernatural person. One might suppose, when reading Dr. Aked's statement, that he fully believes and endorses all the teachings of Jesus, St. Peter and St. Paul; and that if they had told of the miraculous birth he would be a hearty believer in it and an advocate of it. Let us see! Let us give Dr. Aked and his seventy-five supporters the proof of their error, and accept the Bible. "Charity hopeth all things."
The Bible stands or falls as a whole. Its Plan of Salvation, made up of the teachings of Jesus, the Apostles and the Prophets, cannot be accepted in part and rejected in part. If Jesus and His Apostles taught that He had a special birth for a special purpose, and the statement was not true, they were wicked deceivers. Then not one word of theirs should be accepted or trusted. To call Jesus the Great Teacher, and then to say that the basis of His teaching is falsehood, is inconsistent, and would imply sympathy with falsehood.
St. Peter's Testimony.
The teaching of Jesus was chiefly by induction. He had been with His disciples working miracles for probably two years before He asked them, "Whom say ye that I am?" When St. Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus replied, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in Heaven."-- Matthew 16:16,17.
Did not St. Peter thus declare his faith that Jesus was the Son of God-- not the son of Joseph? And did not Jesus approve this, and refer to the Heavenly and not to an earthly Father?
What did Jesus mean when He declared, "Before Abraham was, I am?" By induction He told of a pre-human existence--or He deceived! Similarly He prayed to the Father, "Glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (John 8:58; 17:5.) If He had no previous existence, but was born like others, His words were deceptive. Was the great Teacher the great Deceiver?
Again, Jesus told His disciples about His ascending "up where He was before." If He had no previous existence, if He had not a special birth, how could we understand those words except as deceptive? Similarly, Jesus referred to Himself as "the Bread which came down from Heaven."-- John 6:62,32-35,41.
Surely Jesus was miraculously born, or else He was the greatest and most successful of all deceivers, and therefore the worst of all deceivers. Let each take his choice. There is no middle ground.
St. Paul's View of the Subject.
Having heard from Jesus and from St. Peter, let us hear from St. Paul. What is the force or significance of St. Paul's statement that Jesus is "the First Born of every creature," and that "by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible...all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist?" (Colossians 1:15-17.) These words by the Apostle are surely not in accord with the theory that Jesus began His existence the same as others--that He was the son of Joseph.
Again St. Paul writes, "Our Lord Jesus, though He was rich, for our sakes became poor." (2 Corinthians 8:9.) Again he declares, "Who, existing [OV329] in a form of God, counted not equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.-- Philippians 2:6,7.
Again, what is the meaning of St. Paul's declaration that Jesus was "holy, guileless, undefiled and separate from sinners?" (Hebrews 7:26.) If Jesus was the son of Joseph, He was not separate from sinners, but belonged to the same stock with all others, and would also have needed a Redeemer.
The early Church all believed Jesus' declaration that He was the Son of God, whom the Father had sent into the world to be the Savior of men. (John 3:17.) Indeed, this feature of the Master's teachings especially angered the Jews; for they declared that in claiming to be the Son of God, He was establishing Himself upon a pedestal of honor, dignity, glory, in competition with Jehovah. To this, Jesus replied, "Say ye of Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest! because I said, I am the Son of God?"-- John 10:36.
St. John's Statements.
The Gospel of St. John was written later than the other Gospels; hence it was not necessary that the writer should take up the miraculous birth of Jesus. But it was eminently proper that through Him God should give us a glimpse into the pre-human condition of the Savior. Mark well the particularity of the Apostle's words: "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a God. The same was in the beginning with the God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not one thing made that was made ...And the Logos was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."--John 1:1-14.
Separated from the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus, the theology of the Bible would not hold together for one moment. Its claim is that the Divine sentence following Adam's sin was a death sentence. The basis of that Divine judgment is that no sinner is worthy of life everlasting. The six thousand years of the world's history, from Adam's time until now, demonstrate that man is unable to regain perfection, and unable to resist the curse of sin and the sentence of death--"Dying, thou shalt die."-- Genesis 2:17.
Basis of the Doctrine of the Ransom.
The teaching of the Bible is that God arranged this death sentence purposely, so as to make necessary the death of Jesus. St. Paul so declares, saying, "As by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead; for as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive; every man in his own order." (1 Corinthians 15:21-23.) In other words, if God had not provided a sinless Redeemer, and if that Redeemer had not died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and risen from the dead for our justification, then there would have been no future life for humanity --the death of mankind would have been like that of the brute, a hopeless one. There would have been no resurrection from the death condition. Death would have been an eternal sleep.
St. Paul emphasizes this thought, declaring that if there be no resurrection of the dead, then all faith is vain, all hope is vain, all preaching is vain. (1 Corinthians 15:13,14.) No one will question the declaration of the Scriptures that all humanity are misshapen in iniquity, and that in sin did our mothers conceive us. Father Adam and Mother Eve gave us, as their children, a legacy of imperfection of mind and body, and of sinful tendencies. God's provision is that Christ shall make good for the transgression of the first Adam, and that eventually He shall be the Second Adam, who will [OV330] be successful, who will give life everlasting to all those who will obey Him.
Basis of the Doctrine of Restitution.
The first offer of everlasting life through Christ has been going out for nineteen centuries; but few have hearing ears and understanding hearts. It is to these few that the call now comes to leave the world and to become associates with Jesus in the glory, honor and immortality to which He has attained. He attained the glorious station which He now occupies, "far above angels, principalities and powers," at the right hand of the Majesty on High, as a reward for His obedience to the Father's will--obedience in coming into the world, in enduring faithfully the trials of His earthly ministry, and finally in dying a sacrificial death. St. Paul writes of Him, "Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2.) The invitation of this Gospel Age to all who have the hearing ear is to follow in the steps of Jesus, to become joint-sacrificers with Him, and to be sharers of His heavenly glory and His Messianic Kingdom.
When the Church shall all have been gathered, then Messiah's Kingdom will be established, for which we pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." For a thousand years, Christ and His glorified Church will bless mankind, uplifting them to human perfection, mental, moral, physical. Whosoever will, may then attain to the everlasting life secured for all by the sacrificial death of Him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners," by virtue of His special birth.
OUR BOW OF PROMISE
A RAVELED rainbow overhead
Lets down to earth its varying thread--
Love's blue, joy's gold; and fair between
Hope's shifting light of emerald green.
On either side in deep relief
A crimson pain, a violet grief.
Wouldst thou amid their gleaming hues
Snatch after those, and these refuse?
Believe, could thine anointed eyes
Follow their lines, and sound the skies.
There where the fadeless glories shine
Thine unseen Savior twists the twine!
And be thou sure what tint soe'er
The broken ray beneath may wear,
It needs them all that, fair and white,
His love may weave the perfect light.
[OV331]
Three Men and Two Women Whom
Jesus Loved
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick."
ALL MEN who have any knowledge of Jesus esteem Him-- Christians, Gentiles and Jews. All men, whatever their religious convictions, are ready to admit the surpassing personality of the great Nazarene and His "wonderful words of life." It is as respects his Messiahship that they differ. However, we submit that if He was not the special servant of Jehovah, the Son of God, as he claimed, sent into the world on a special mission, then He must of necessity have been either a deceived man or a wicked impostor. His wonderful personality and words of justice and wisdom and love contradict the thought that He was either ignorant or a deceiver. Hence the only tenable ground is that He was a deceived man or else that He was indeed the Son of God, who acted and spoke and performed miracles under Divine direction and power. We hold that the evidence of His teaching overwhelmingly corroborate the truth of His claims. But here we make a distinction between the claims which our Lord Jesus made for Himself and other claims which have been made for Him without His sanction and without apostolic or other inspired corroboration.
Let it not be supposed that we are forgetting the length and breadth of Jesus' love for all humanity, and a special love for all of His disciples; yea, for all who love righteousness and seek, as did He, to do the Father's will. In keeping with this was His prayer for His disciples on the night before his crucifixion, in connection with which we read: "Jesus, having loved His own, loved them unto the end." (John 13:1). And again, His statement, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13.) And again His query: "Who is My mother, and who are My brethren? And he stretched forth His hand to His disciples and said, Behold My mother, and My brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of My Father, which is in Heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:48-50.) These expressions give us a glimpse of the length and breadth of the love of Jesus. But for the present occasion let us consider those persons whom Jesus is said to have specially loved.
"Jesus Beholding Him Loved Him."
The rich young nobleman who came to the Lord said, Rabbi, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit the Kingdom of God? Jesus saith unto him, Thou knowest the commandments; ...and he said unto him, [OV332] Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him, loved him. Jesus lovingly admired the young man who was thus desirous of being in full accord with the Heavenly Father's will. That young man had very much of the Master's own Spirit. He wanted to do right, and he desired to have the gift of God, eternal life. He thought that he must have merited this by his faithful attention to the law. Yet he knew that he had not attained to eternal life, that the death sentence was still upon him. He sought counsel of the greatest Rabbi, the greatest Teacher. That Teacher loved so earnest a spirit and proffered him advice on what he still lacked of coming fully up to God's requirements of those who will be granted a place in the Messianic Kingdom, which in "due time" is to bless Israel, and, through Israel, all the families of the earth.
In no uncertain terms, the Master gave the young man to see that while he has been keeping, probably to the best of his ability, the commandments of the decalogue, he had only imperfectly discerned the meaning of the Divine requirement of love for his neighbor as for himself. The young man was very rich. And to fulfill the requirements of the Law to love his neighbor as himself would have meant --not the hoarding of wealth, nor necessarily the distribution of it all, but the wise use of it in the interest of his fellowmen. But to gain a share in the Kingdom would require even more than this. He must take up his cross and become a follower of Jesus --walking in the steps of full obedience to the Divine will. The price was too much for the young man, and he went his way. Jesus merely answered the question, but did not urge the young man to thus present himself a living sacrifice to God and His service. Indeed, in no case did Jesus ever do more than invite--never did he urge. On the contrary, He advised, Sit down first and count the cost of discipleship.
What could we surmise respecting the eternal destiny of this young man who had been striving so earnestly to keep the Law and to gain eternal life, and who turned from Jesus and declined to take up the cross and follow Him? Could we suppose that Divine Justice would send such a man to eternal torment under these conditions? If there were such a penalty over him, shall we suppose that Jesus would have allowed him to go without urging him strenuously, without at least warning him, that by his course he was making the choice of eternal torment? Can we suppose that our Master knew that all the people whom He addressed and who failed to accept His Message would consequently be consigned to eternal torture, and that He let them go without urging the matter upon them? We could not so think! Thank God! We are gradually getting free from the bondage of error fastened upon us by those who mistranslated certain words in our Bible.
We get the proper view when we remember that Jesus' Message at that time was "The Gospel of the Kingdom." He was merely inviting whoever might have the ear to hear and the heart to appreciate the privilege of becoming associated with Himself in the glorious Kingdom for which He told His disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven." What the rich young man lost was the special privilege of becoming a joint-heir with Christ in that Kingdom which, in due time, will be established and whose mission will be the blessing of Israel and the world. It will bring to them "Times of Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began."--Acts 3:19-21.
"He Whom Thou Lovest is Sick."
Our text stands related to a very wonderful incident in our Lord's ministry. Jesus with His disciples was about three days' journey from Bethany, the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. But they knew His whereabouts, [OV333] for He was a special friend and their home was His home whenever He was near Jerusalem. Lazarus became seriously ill. But the two sisters, Martha and Mary, feared nothing, since they had such great confidence in Jesus, even to belief in His ability to awaken sleepers from death. They thought it proper to send the Master word respecting Lazarus, but not proper to dictate to Him what should be done in the case. Rather they left to Himself to decide whether He should speak the word and rebuke the disease, or whether He should come to Bethany and take the sick by the hand and say, Arise. The simple message they sent was, "Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick." The beautiful, childlike, simple faith which they exhibited must have been very precious in the Master's sight. Nevertheless, Jesus said nothing, and did nothing in the matter for three days. Then He said to His disciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." They did not grasp His meaning until He said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there. I am glad because it will give Me an opportunity to demonstrate to you and through you to all who shall be My disciples in the future the great power of God that is vested in Me in respect to the Resurrection of the dead.
All Bible students surely have noticed how frequently in the Scriptures the word "sleep" is used as a poetical synonym for death. "Abraham slept with his fathers." "David slept with his fathers." Prophets, priests and kings are said to have slept with their fathers, whether good or bad. Likewise, the New Testament uses the same figure of speech. We read that St. Stephen, the martyr, stoned to death, "fell asleep." St. Paul speaks of the Church as falling asleep in death, and refers to all of our friends, good and bad, who go down into death, as being "asleep in Jesus." He tells us that we need not sorrow for them as others who know not the Resurrection hope.
All who fall asleep in death because of Adam's transgression and its death sentence have in Jesus a Divinely appointed Redeemer, who in God's due time is to awaken all the sleeping hosts of Adam's race. "All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth." They that have done good (who have secured Divine approval as worthy of eternal life) shall come forth unto the Resurrection of life (full perfection); and they that have done evil (that have not secured the Divine approval as being of eternal life) shall come forth in the resurrection for judgment (John 5:28,29) or trial, for discipline, for correction in righteousness during Messiah's reign of one thousand years.
Coming forth in that judgment time, or trial time, all the willing and obedient will eventually be lifted out of sin and death, while those disobedient to the light and opportunity will be again consigned to death--Second Death, everlasting extinction.-- 2 Thess. 1:9.
We have read our Bibles too carelessly in the past, and have given too much heed to those who, with fewer opportunities than ourselves, grossly misinterpreted its teachings. What did we think respecting this word "sleep," anyway? Did we suppose that the good "sleep" in heaven? We were told that the bad would go to a place too warm for sleep. But our own brains and our own Bibles we never thought of using in connection with the subject. Now, when we hearken to the Word of God, how plain, how simple, how reasonable, are its teachings! The dead are dead--not alive. However, in view of God's Plan that there shall be a Resurrection of the dead "in due time," he speaks of the dead not as extinct like the brute, but as merely asleep. They are waiting for the morning--the glorious morning of Messiah's Kingdom, when "the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in its beams," when Satan shall be bound for a thousand years and deceive the peoples no more. Instead of the reign of Sin and Death, the reign of [OV334] Righteousness and Life Everlasting shall begin. How beautifully the Scriptures answer the question where the dead sleep: "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake."--Daniel 12:2.
"Lazarus, Come Forth."
Jesus and His disciples turned their steps toward Bethany. Poor Martha and Mary meantime were sorely disappointed. Not for a moment did they suppose that their mighty friend would allow this trouble to come upon them --that He would neglect to come or to use His power to save Lazarus from dying. So grief-stricken and so heart-broken were they that Martha, only, came to meet the Master, and her first words were those of gentle reproach, reminding Him of their disappointment in Him: "Lord, if Thou hadst been here (if Thou hadst come when we sent Thee word) our brother had not died."
What message of comfort did Jesus express? Did He say, Martha, Lazarus is far better off in Heaven! He is with the angels! He is singing and very happy! Surely you would not bring him back to earth again! Were these the words of Jesus? No! He merely said: "Thy brother shall rise again." He thus implied that her brother was not alive, but really dead. How could he rise again if he had not ceased to live? Martha's reply indicates that she understood the teachings of Jesus and of the prophets. She said: "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." But Jesus wished to draw her attention to the present and to have her ask Him, even at this time, to call Lazarus back from the sleep of death. So he said: "I am the resurrection and the life. You, Martha, recognize Me as the Messiah, the Son of God. You believe that eventually when the resurrection does take place, God's resurrection power will be exercised through Me. And now I am here with you. Why do you not ask Me to exercise some of this power in advance? Where have you laid him?"
Martha finally caught the thought, but replied, "No, no, Lord, it is too late now. By this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. If you had come when I sent you word, or even had gotten here within a day or so, there would have been some hope; but now it has gone too far for that, for decomposition has set in. No miracle could possibly reorganize broken down tissues." But Jesus insisted that they show him the place. When He came to the tomb, what did the Master do? Did He command Lazarus to lay aside his crown and harp in Heaven and bid the angels good-by and come back to earth-life? No! Did He call for him to come up from Purgatory, the location of which nobody knows? No! What did He say? Addressing the tomb, He said, "Lazarus, come forth!" And what occurred? The dead one came forth. He was not alive at all! He was dead!
The Beloved Family.
We read again: "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus." Some have thought that they discerned Lazarus amongst later disciples of Christ--possibly Barnabus. But anyway, he was one whom Jesus loved, even though he was not one of the Apostles who followed with the Lord. And Martha had come down to us as a synonym of bustling, energetic hospitality, "busied about many things." Yet surely she was loving and loyal to the Master. Jesus loved Martha, and we may be sure, therefore, that He loves all of similar character. But He loved Mary also. And we do not forget that when she gave up some of her housework that she might sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him, the Master declared that she had "chosen the better part." This was the same Mary who anointed the Master with the precious spikenard ointment five days before His burial. Martha and Mary both loved and were loved of the Lord, yet, evidently, Mary's love and the form it took was specifically approved of the Master.
[OV335]
Finally, we come to John, the loving disciple of whom it is said that he was "that disciple whom Jesus loved." What a glorious testimony was John's! We remember that he and his brother loved the Lord so dearly that they desired that in His Kingdom in the future they might be next to Him, one on His right hand, the other on His left hand. We remember that the Master answered that only by drinking of His cup of shame and ignominy, and by being baptized into His sacrificial death could they hope to sit in His throne at all. And we recall how loyally they agreed to these terms.
In proportion as we are desirous of having the Master's approval and smile, let us seek to cultivate His character-likeness. The Apostle tells us that such copies of God's dear Son are to be honored with a share with Him in His Kingdom-glory on the heavenly plane. To such will come the honor and privilege of blessing and uplifting mankind in general--to an earthly salvation in Paradise restored --by and by. As we note the special features of character which called forth the Master's love, we shall more and more be able to copy them in reaching our goal.
THE SWEET-BRIER ROSE
BESIDE my cottage door it grows,
The loveliest, daintiest flower that blows,
A sweet-brier rose.
At dewy morn or twilight's close,
The rarest perfume from it flows,--
This strange, wild rose.
But when the raindrops on it beat,
Ah, then its odors grow more sweet
About my feet!
Ofttimes with loving tenderness
Its soft green leaves I gently press
In sweet caress,--
A still more wondrous fragrance flows,
The more my fingers firmly close,
And crush the rose!
***
Dear Lord, oh, let my life be so,--
Its perfume when the tempests blow,
The sweeter flow!
And should it be Thy blessed will
With crushing grief my soul to fill,
Press harder still.
And while its dying fragrance flows,
I'll whisper low, "He loves and knows
His crushed brier-rose."
[OV336]
Financial, Ecclesiastical and Social
Shakings
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
TEXT: "Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven, and this word, Yet once, signifieth the removing of those things that may be shaken... that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.-- Hebrews 12:26,27.
This text is applicable to our day. The removal of all things shakable is now in progress. Only those things which are harmonious with Divine standards, which cannot be shaken, will remain. The shaking of the heavens refers to the destruction of the present religious control--Churchianity --and the shaking of the earth refers to the destruction of present social, financial and political affairs.
Passing by the latter part of my text at this time, I will discuss only the forepart.
Stocks and Bonds to be Shaken.
Everything false, bogus, inequitable, will be shaken. In financial parlance this is equivalent to saying that the "water" will be squeezed out of all the stocks and bonds. By methods once sanctioned, but now everywhere reprehended, stocks and bonds have been issued for sums far beyond the actual value of the properties. These stocks and bonds have cost their present owners varying sums, from nothing up to par; but their actual value is what the properties would cost, plus a reasonable percentage of allowance for right of way and business "good will." In ordinary times these had a market value built upon hope of their future prosperity. Now, however, the general public has become aware of the real situation and is fearful to touch at any price these shares and bonds of over-capitalized companies, and the most sound and solvent of them share the public distrust. Now, in the opening of the New Dispensation, when everything is being "shaken," we are to expect that all such stocks and bonds will be shaken in value until everything like dishonesty [OV337] and inequity shall have been shaken out.
Forty years ago the world's great bankers and financiers concluded that it would be to their interest to demonetize silver and have only a gold standard. This finally accomplished what they foresaw and intended: It curtailed the world's monetary supply and enabled the bankers the better to control the entire situation throughout the world. By an elaborate banking system (valuable in some respects), it made each gold dollar chase itself and do the work of five dollars or ten dollars, assisted by bank checks and drafts. Thus the profits of the larger banks increased amazingly by reason of higher discount and interest charges --making them rich at the public expense.
The public, of course, acquiesced in the law demonetizing silver and making gold the single standard. But they did it under misapprehension, because they believed the bankers' tale --that this was really the best thing for the people, and not merely a measure in the interest of the banker and at the expense of the people. It is perhaps but fair to say that less than one-half of the bankers understood the philosophy of the matter; the others were guided by the wealthier and more astute, who did fully understand.
The result has been great profits to the bankers, and great power; for without them, railroad stocks and bonds could not be handled successfully. The bankers took over large issues of railroad stocks and bonds, by what is known as the underwriting process. They were capable sales agents for the bonds at a good round percentage of profit, advancing money on the bonds and holding them for sale to the public.
The Day of Reckoning.
Now we see fulfilled the Scripture declaration: "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." (Job 5:13.) How so, do you ask? I reply that the great banks have their vaults well filled with these bonds and stocks, on which they had hoped to make large profits; but which, on the contrary, they are now unable to sell at any price. These stocks and bonds reckoned in as part of the banks' assets, show them to be wealthy, with immense surpluses; but now the "water" is to be taken out of these stocks and bonds. It will show an immense shrinkage in the resources of these banks. They will become suddenly poor, without actually losing a cent, by reason of the market value of their securities falling.
This fact is realized by all banks. They realize that if the Day of Reckoning has come, and their holdings-- their securities--are to be reckoned at their actual value, it will mean that instead of large resources and surpluses, some of the richest banks will become insolvent and be called upon by the government either to close their doors or to make good their shortage. And right there will be their difficulty; for the rich men of the world have their capital invested similarly, and the reaction will be bound to unfavorably affect all the great commercial enterprises of the world. As all went well, amazingly well for the bankers and the wealthy by reason of the demonetization of silver, so when the Day of Reckoning shall have fully dawned, things will go especially hard with these same people. And, although the stoppage and the reconstruction will involve the whole world, many respects the rich will feel the pressure most.
The liquidating process had already begun before the present European war started. The Hartford and New Haven Railroad, The Chicago and Rock Island, and others, have been called to account. With these, the "water squeezing" processes of the law have been threatening, and will undoubtedly accomplish their thorough "shaking." But meantime, the war, waiting not for the more gradual processes of the law and the ordinary business, has brought the financial world to a crisis. The nations of Europe are being shaken. The casualties [OV338] of the war already amount to a million and a half of human beings, and hundreds of millions of dollars. And it is only begun. Financial values there are greatly impaired, as are also national credits. The thing wanted is gold, and as in every war, this precious metal has practically disappeared in the nations at war. Their home securities will not be salable for cash, and a general attempt will be made to sell American securities-- American stocks, bonds, etc. But who will buy these? America will be practically the only market for them, and, as we have already seen, American banks and bankers are loaded down heavily.
When we learn the immense amount of these American shares and bonds held in European hands, we need not wonder that American bankers pale at the thought of their being dumped upon the American market. Reliable financial authorities declare that Europe has about five thousand millions of dollars invested in American securities. If but one-fifth of these be sacrificed to realize gold, it will mean an avalanche--a financial deluge. American banks, already overloaded with these "securities," cannot purchase all; hence prices will tumble and wrecks follow.
Effect of Silver Demonetization.
In view of these matters, is it any wonder that American bankers fear to see the stock exchanges open for business? Had the exchanges not closed promptly when they did, we would have had the most terrible panic ever known. By the closing of the exchanges that awful panic was temporarily averted. By their closing, the owners of the stocks and bonds have been hindered from realizing upon them; thus the face value of these stocks and bonds has been preserved, and thereby the banks and bankers have been permitted to continue to count these shares and bonds at fictitious prices which nobody would pay for them to-day.
Had silver not been demonetized, bankers would not have had as easy a time as they have been enjoying in cornering the financial market, and getting large rates of interest and premiums; but neither would they be in the same distress at the present time, for the world would have had twice as much money with which to do its business. When we consider that the gold coin of the world is not sufficient for even the paying of the interest of the debts, we perceive how the banking institutions have had the people, figuratively, by the throat, and now are being choked themselves by their own device.
The interest upon the debts cannot be paid in gold because there is not enough of it to pay the interest. Hence the only thing remaining to be done is to issue more bonds, payable in gold also, and the interest payable in gold. Now that nobody will buy the bonds, what is to be done? Interest on foreign holdings of American "securities," estimated at only four per cent per annum, means a drainage of two hundred millions of dollars every year in gold, needed to pay that interest. Now we seem to be coming to a dead stop through this war; and the wheels of finance which worked so favorably for the bankers in the past, are turning in the opposite direction and lacerating them financially.
Apparently our financial "house of cards" is trembling, and about to fall. Various expediences are being tried by the governments and the ablest financiers of the world. We might hope that their skill would accomplish the end they desire, and save the present institutions--financial--from being "shaken" to pieces. But, if we are right in our understanding of the Scriptures--if the great Day of Settlement has come, in which all the shakable things are to be shaken and nothing remain except that which cannot be shaken, then we may be sure that all human effort will fail, and that the greatest of all crashes of a financial kind that have ever happened will take place.
It will be noticed that I am saying [OV339] nothing new--that what I have just said has been said in part, at least, by many, and published in the newspapers I am merely bringing together these things, and showing their relationship to the testimony of the Bible, that we are now in the great day of "shaking." To some this will be considered a fanatical pessimism, because the vast majority of people have absolutely no confidence in the Bible. Nevertheless, when these things shall come to pass in the very near future, some may be helped to an understanding of the true situation--to a recognition of the fact that the "shaking" upon the nations--financial, social, political and religious--is of the Lord, and not accidental.
Under normal conditions, American business should be prospering as never before, because her commercial competitors are at war and unable to properly attain to their commercial interests. Likewise, American securities should be in demand, because all securities of foreign countries have depreciated by the war. But with the gold standard and an insufficiency of gold, the business of the entire world is stagnated. The world's needs and wants are as great as ever, but it has not the gold wherewith to purchase. The demonetization of silver seems to be referred to by the Prophet Ezekiel (7:19) saying: "They shall cast their silver into the street"--treat it as a commodity and not as money. The Prophet then tells how gold will become scarce and eventually be completely withdrawn by the people hiding it as though it were an unclean thing, as the Hebrew text implies--"Their gold shall be removed." Thus neither silver nor gold will be available.
Railroad magnates, and the bankers who hold their securities, perceive that if it is difficult to raise money for the meeting of the interest on the bonds, it will be more difficult to issue new bonds to replace maturing ones, no matter how sound and well managed the railway may be. Is it any wonder that the trepidation of the financial and political princes of the earth is great, as they look into the future! Their well-grounded fears were prophesied by our Savior as one of the signs of the present time: "Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things coming upon the earth"-- the social order--and because of the shaking of the heavens, the ecclesiastical systems.--Luke 21:26.
THE DAY OF HIS PREPARATION
LAY down your rails, ye nations, near and far,
Yoke your full trains to steam's triumphal car;
Link town to town, unite in iron bands
The long-estranged and oft-embattled lands.
Peace, mild-eyed seraph; knowledge, light Divine,
Shall send their messengers by every line.
Men joined in amity shall wonder long
That hate had power to lead their fathers wrong;
Or that false glory lured their hearts astray,
And made it virtuous and sublime to slay.
How grandly now these wonders of our day
Make preparation for Christ's royal way,
And with what joyous hope our souls
Do watch the ball of progress as it rolls,
Knowing that all, completed or begun,
Is but the dawning that precedes the sun!
[OV336]
THIS TOO WILL PASS!
POOR heart, break not, though cruel be thy wound--
This too will pass!
The weariest day will end in sunset light,
And dawn must follow e'en the darkest night!
Nor drink too deeply of Joy's honeyed cup--
This too will pass!
Caressing hands will lose their loving touch,
And words mean nothing, that once meant so much.
Ah, then, whate'er thy state, seek thou content--
This will not pass!
True rest is found in God, He knows and cares,
His heart of love thy every sorrow shares!
[OV340]
WORLD-WIDE THEOCRACY
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet."-- 1 Corinthians 15:25. MANY of us have learned to appreciate a republican form of government as the very highest type of civil administration. I trust that I am not one whit behind the most patriotic of you in my appreciation of the great government of these United States, which many of us believe is the noblest that has yet risen amongst men. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that Messiah's Reign will be that of a monarchy; and that it will be very exclusive and aristocratic. Additionally, it will be most autocratic-theocratic; for the will of its subjects will not be consulted in the slightest.
At first, in alarm, we are ready to say, Would not that be a most dangerous condition of things? Could any royal family, however noble and generous, be entrusted with such autocratic power without fear of its being misused for the enslavement of the people, for the aggrandizement of the rulers? Have we not learned this in the history of the past six thousand years? Do we not see the necessity for curtailing and controlling the power of kings and governors? Are we not more and more brought to realize the necessity that the people shall rule, whether in Congress or in Parliament, in Doumas or Chambers of Deputies?
Yes, my dear friends, I heartily accede to all this; but when I describe the nature of its Kingdom and its personnel, all fears will assuredly flee, and you will rejoice exceedingly that the Divine arrangement is what it is in respect to the theocratic Kingdom shortly to be established and to take over the government of the world.
Scripturally it is described as the Fifth Universal Empire of earth. I remind you of King Nebuchadnezzar's Divinely inspired dream, as interpreted by the Prophet Daniel. It was of an image majestic, grand. The head of the image was Nebuchadnezzar's own Kingdom of Babylon, the first to rule the earth. Next, represented in the breast and the arms of silver, came Medo-Persia, the second Universal Empire of earth, conqueror of Babylon. Next, represented in the belly and thighs of the image, came Grecia, the third Universal Empire of earth, which conquered Medo-Persia. Next, represented in the legs of iron, came Rome, the fourth Universal Empire, conqueror of Greece. There are to be no more until Messiah's Kingdom; it will be the fifth.
Meantime, we have had two attempts at a fifth monarchy, both unsuccessful. One was by the Papacy; the other was that of Napoleon I. During this time the present divisions, which resulted from the breaking up of the Roman Empire, are represented by the feet of the image, with their ten toes.
Smiting the Image's Feet.
The prophecy declares (Daniel 2:44) that in the days of these kings, represented by the toes of the image, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom, which shall subdue all the kingdoms and which shall never be overthrown. It shall "be given to the people, saints, of the Most High God, [OV341] and they shall take the Kingdom and possess it forever." (Daniel 7:18,27.) In the picture of God's Kingdom is symbolically represented as a great stone, hewn from the mountain without hands--supernaturally. It shall smite the image in its feet; and forthwith "the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold shall become like the chaff of a summer threshing floor, and the wind shall carry it away," but the mountain shall increase until "it shall fill the whole earth."
Thus God pictures things now shortly to come to pass. This crushing of the feet of the image was to come in the end of the age, preparatory to the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom. So long as these governments would be here, they and Messiah's Kingdom could not co-operate. The Gentile governments are based on selfishness and coercion; Christ's Kingdom will be based on justice, love, mercy, under the Prince of Peace. The two could not rule at the same time.
The present terrible war is not the great Time of Trouble in the fullest sense of the word, but merely its forerunner. The great Time of Trouble of the Scriptures will be brought on by anarchy--the general uprising of the people: "Every man's hand against his neighbor, no peace to him that goeth out or to him that cometh in." (Zechariah 8:10; 14:13.) Our thought is that this great war will weaken the nations, cripple the world financially, and discredit the rulers in the eyes of their peoples, and thus open the way for anarchy.
Rome and Constantinople represent the two legs of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar saw; for each in turn was the Roman capital and representative of the image. We are certainly justified in watching with considerable interest the present war and what it may lead to in the way of involving all the ten kingdoms represented in this prophecy.
But that is not the special point of interest in my subject; rather, I am discussing the character of Messiah's Kingdom, which is to rule the world, overthrow Sin and Death, and uplift humanity from ignorance, superstition, sin, weakness and death.
The declaration is that Messiah shall reign until He shall have put down all insubordination, and that the last enemy to be destroyed will be death.--1 Corinthians 15:25,26.
This is the Kingdom for which the Master Himself taught His followers to pray. Nothing insignificant will be the outcome of that glorious Reign of a thousand years. At its very beginning Satan will be bound, with all that this signifies--the repression of evil and darkness. For a thousand years the Sun of Righteousness shall pour forth the light of truth and grace upon our poor, fallen race until the knowledge of God's glory shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep.--Habakkuk 2:14.
Eventually, all wilful opponents of that Kingdom will die the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption, no recovery. Meantime, all the willing and obedient will be rising, not only from the tomb, but also out of all the weaknesses and frailties of the present time to perfection of life, although they will not live again in this perfect sense until the thousand years shall be finished. After that Reign of Righteousness shall have accomplished its work of delivering the groaning creation from the bondage of corruption, sin and death, Messiah will abdicate the Throne. As it is written, "He will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, that He may be all in all."
No More Sighing, Crying, Dying.
What a glorious condition will then obtain when there shall be no more crying, no more dying, for all the former things of sin and death shall have passed away! Glad are we that our great Messiah is about to overthrow sin and evil, about to establish righteousness on a permanent and everlasting foundation, which will insure that to all eternity God's will shall be done as perfectly in this earth as it is now done in Heaven.
[OV342]
I ask you to consider candidly--you need not reply--Is there a kingdom in the world to-day that in your judgment represents a Divine government amongst men? Is there a perfect government, where God's will is done as it is done in Heaven? You are conversant with history. You know the bloody record which marks its pages. You know that so-called Christian Europe has been drenched with blood more than any other part of the world. You know that the cause of wrong has triumphed oftener than the cause of right. You know that to-day these kingdoms of Europe, styled kingdoms of God, are destroying one another. You know that great guns, great battleships and monster torpedoes have been prepared by these various nations for use against one another while they all claim to be Christ's kingdoms. Is this logical? Is this rational? Most assuredly not!
We must go to the Bible for true information on this subject. It tells us that these kingdoms are not the kingdoms of God, but "Kingdoms of this world." It tells us that Satan is the Prince of this world (John 14:30; Ephesians 2:2), that he is "the god of this world," "that now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience" --so much more numerous than the children of obedience that he, through them, holds the world's control. But with equal clearness the Bible declares that he and his reign of Sin and Death are permitted of God for a limited time and a special purpose; and that when the due time comes Messiah will take His great power and reign--then Satan shall be bound, and all the forces of sin and darkness be restrained.
"The Election Hath Obtained It."
Come with me and take a cursory view of God's great work thus far accomplished. For more than two thousand years God gave no clear intimation of His purposes toward the fallen race. Then He made a statement to Abraham, so explicit that St. Paul declares it a statement of the Gospel in advance. God said to Abraham, I shall bless the world. This could only mean, I shall relieve them of the curse of death which came upon them through Adam's sin. God added, This blessing I will bring to all mankind through your posterity--"In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
God's due time for bringing this blessing was not until Messiah should come. Meantime God gave Abraham's natural seed the Law Covenant, which offered them eternal life and an inheritance in the Kingdom if they could keep the Law. Of course, they could not do so; for the Law was the measure of a perfect man's ability, and like the remainder of mankind the Israelites were sinners. Nevertheless their attempt to keep the Law brought them great uplift of heart, so that when Jesus came a considerable number of them were ready to receive Him. They became sons of God, through the begetting of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost and afterward. These were the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, Jesus being the Head, or first.
Israel had hoped for a share in Messiah's Kingdom. St. Paul explains, "Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh, but the Election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." The blinded Israelites are still cast aside, but not forever. The Divine blessing shall come to Natural Israel just as soon as Spiritual Israel shall be completed.--See Romans 11:7,25.
The Kingdom Suffereth Violence.
What did the "Election" obtain? We answer, They became identified with Messiah's Kingdom and heirs of the Abrahamic Promise. Note that not a sufficient number of Jews were found worthy to complete the Kingdom class. God had foreseen this, and through the Prophet had promised that some would be gathered from the Gentiles to complete this class. The entire work of the Gospel Age has been the calling of this "elect" company. If we have rightly viewed the matter, the foreordained number will soon have [OV343] been found, and Messiah's reign begin.
Throughout the Gospel Age, the Kingdom class have been suffering with Christ. Jesus explained this: they are indeed of the Royal Family, because begotten of the Holy Spirit; but they have not yet entered into their glory. They will do so only by the power of the First Resurrection. Thus it is written, "We must all be changed," because "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God."
Partly for their testing, their development takes place in a time when Satan is the Prince of this world, when his power is permitted to be exercised against them as it was against our Lord. The message to these is: "The Kingdom suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matthew 11:12.) As our Lord suffered violence from the Prince of this world, so will His followers; for "the disciple is not above his Lord." His promise to His followers is, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
TRUST
"BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED."
CHILD of Mine, I love thee, listen now to Me,
And make answer truly while I question thee.
For I see that shadows do thy soul oppress,
And thy faith so weakens, that I cannot bless.
Thou hast craved My power and presence in thy soul.
Wilt thou yield thee truly unto My control?
Wilt thou let Me ever with thee have My way,
Yield thyself in all things simply to obey?
Though My presence ofttimes seem to be withdrawn,
Of Mine inward workings not a trace be shown,
Wilt thou count Me present notwithstanding all,
Still believe I'm working ever in thy soul?
When I give to others what I thee deny,
Flood them with My sunshine, wholly pass thee by,
Wilt thou still believe in My strong love for thee,
Yield thee to My purpose whatsoe'er it be?
When I to thy pleadings seem no heed to pay,
And thy foes grow bolder, claim thee as their prey,
Though toward thee I'm silent, wilt thou stand the test,
On My Word of promise lay thee down to rest?
If to these My questions thou canst answer "Yes,"
Thou shalt be forever one I love the best.
To the inner circle of My favored few,
Thou shalt be admitted, and My glory view.
[OV344]
Exposition of the Justice of the Day
of Vengeance
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington
and Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
THE whole world are Gentiles, according to the Scriptural presentation, except the true followers of Christ, and the loyal-hearted Jews who are still God's people under their Law Covenant. In classing the great mass of Jews and of professed Christians as part of the world the Pastor meant no unkindness; but declared that to understand God's dealing in the present time, nominal Christians, or mere professors, must not be confounded with the "little flock" who have responded to the Gospel Call, "Gather My saints together unto Me, saith the Lord; those who have made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice"--self-sacrifice. (Psalm 50:5; Romans 12:1.) If we recognize these saintly Christians of every nation and denomination as being the one true Church, "whose names are written in Heaven," and if we recognize all others as Gentiles, we shall be getting the eyes of our understanding into true alignment with the mind of God as expressed in the Bible.
Thus seen, God is not merely calling nations to war, to battle, as nations; but in a more particular sense the call is to this Gentile class irrespective of national boundaries. And it is worthy of note that throughout the Scriptures the great masses of India, China, etc., are comparatively ignored. Because they have not come into particular contact with God's Messages they are not so particularly included in the judgments, chastisements, troubles, foretold to be coming upon the earth at the close of this Age. In other words, unintentional ignorance of God is not a crime to be punished, but a defect to be corrected in due time by the blessings of Messiah's Kingdom.
Wrong Thoughts of God's Wrath.
When thinking of the wrath of God coming upon the world, we are not to think of the Almighty as having exercised great patience for centuries and finally losing His temper and wreaking vengeance upon His creatures. Such a thought might be gathered from some of the expressions of the Scriptures, because of adaptation of language to human comprehension, and more or less loss of the true sentiment in translating and through the mental glass of the translators.
In any event let us remember that this wrath of God and the judgments coming upon the world are wholly different from the legends--namely, eternal torture, etc., at the hands of demons, taught us by our creeds. Instinctively, a part of the dread we have of death in every form--by war, famine and sickness--is the fear of that eternal torture nightmare thrust upon us from childhood, inculcated by all the creeds of Christendom, but without Bible foundation when the latter is properly translated and rightly understood.
Furthermore, we should remember that while God has foretold the troubles [OV345] of the Day of Wrath for centuries and indicates that He will have to do with their precipitation upon the world, nevertheless elsewhere He also shows us that these troubles really come from ourselves, that they are the outgrowth of human wrong-doing, and that these dire penalties of sin would have wrecked our social and religious fabric long, long ago, had not Divine Providence forefended us--holding back the storm of human passion and avarice, and permitting it to come only now, in the end of the Age, at the time when Divine Providence has Messiah's Kingdom in full readiness to take control. Just as soon as the storm of human passion shall have taught humanity its needed lesson and shall have liquidated the long-standing accounts, Messiah's Kingdom, with a clean slate, will be inaugurated.
Accounts Yet to be Squared.
In Jesus and in His saintly followers throughout this Gospel Age, the world has had God's Cause of Righteousness and Truth, more or less clearly manifested. Every persecution against these members of the Body of Christ is a crime against God and against righteousness. Of such sufferings the Apostle says, If any suffer as a Christian, let him glorify God on this behalf; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth on such.
As a blessing rested upon all the Lord's faithful people who have suffered unjustly, so correspondingly a Divine curse, or penalty, has rested upon all persecutors of these, their responsibility being gauged by the degree of their knowledge, and their punishment proportionate. On the books of Justice, however, God represents that the lives of all His faithful ones cry out for vengeance; and that while mercy comes to all mankind through the sacrificial death of the Savior, this does not alter the fact that Justice calls for punishments for crimes more or less wilful and therefore not included in the Savior's atonement.
Thus it was in the end of the Jewish Age, which may serve us as a pattern, or illustration of the ending of this Age. St. Paul, writing of that time, says: "Wrath is come upon this people to the uttermost, that all things written in the Law and the Prophets concerning them should be fulfilled." Notice, however, the vast difference between these Bible judgments and the eternal torment judgments falsely declared by every one of our creeds, which indirectly tell us that every Jew at death goes to eternal torment because he is not a Christian.
But the Scriptures declare that the punishments upon the Jews which culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 were, some of them, for sins committed long before. Notice Jesus' words, "The blood of all the Prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, shall be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the Altar and the Temple."--Luke 11:50,51.
Wherein was the justice in exacting all that of the people living in the close of that Age? We reply that those people had far more responsibility than all who preceded them. They had a great Light amongst them, shining from Jesus and the early saints. In their treatment of these lightbearers, crucifying them and variously injuring them, upon that last generation of the Jewish Age "wrath came to the uttermost."
The Recompenses of Zion.
The Bible intimates that similar aggregations of punishment are to be expected in the end of this Gospel Age. The great Time of Trouble, or Day of Wrath is the "recompense of the controversy of Zion"--the saints, the true Church. For eighteen hundred years Jesus has prophetically declared that the Kingdom class would suffer violence; and the violent have usurped the place of the true by force.
All the while, the violent have outwardly been posing as the True Church of Christ, while the saints of God in [OV346] every epoch and in every century have suffered--"as deceivers and yet true; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." (2 Corinthians 6:8-10.) "Heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17), they have been counted "the filth and offscouring of the earth," "of whom the world was not worthy."
But the sin of their persecutors must be liquidated, even though the persecutors themselves will all eventually be forgiven. From this viewpoint, the "Time of Trouble such as was not since there was a nation," and which is now beginning gradually to be consummated, will be the squaring of God's accounts with the world, preparatory to handing the Kingdom over to Messiah for the blessing of all.
As illustrative of this principle, note the lesson of Revelation 6:9-11: The cry is, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" The message for all these martyrs of Jesus was, Wait a little season, the vengeance will come, but not until all of this class shall have experienced their share of "the sufferings of Christ."
To these martyrs the suffering brought polishings of character, testings of faith, Divine approval and an increased glory on the spirit plane as members of the Bride of Christ--the blessings to be given to them in the First Resurrection--the chief Resurrection, referred to by our Lord in Revelation 20:6. Then will be accomplished the binding of Satan; and then Messiah's Kingdom, with all its blessed and uplifting influences, will bless the whole world with the long-promised "Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began."--Acts 3:19-23.
Modern Persecutions Differ.
We do not say that the persecutions of the last members of the Body of Christ will be literally cutting their tongues out, by literally burning them at the stake, by literally crucifying them or beheading them, as was done with some of the other members of the Body in the past. In our day there is a more refined process often used. Some are gibbeted by the pulpit, some are "roasted" in the public press, some have their tongues cut out in the sense that their words are misrepresented, and that they are denied a hearing. And yet there are things in the Scriptures which seem to imply that there may be a literal assassination and destruction of God's faithful people in the end of this Age, as well as a figurative one. But the Lord's grace will be sufficient for them; and the more they shall suffer for His sake, for the Truth's sake, the greater will be their glory and station in the Kingdom.
Who shall be punished for these crimes against the Saints of God? We answer, Babylon; and Babylon signifies what is to-day known as "the Christian world"--a very anomalous term; for the world has no identification with Christianity nor Christianity with the world. The so-called "Christendom" of our day corresponds exactly to the Jewry of Jesus' day. The Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, were banded together with the Sadducees and the Herodians, the worldly and infidel politicians. Their object was one, namely, the perpetuation of their own institution, regardless of God's arrangement. So here the civilized world, misnaming itself "Christ's Kingdom," is intent upon the preservation of the great Babylon which it has constructed, and willing to do anything to avoid its foretold destruction.
Hypocrisy the Greatest of All Sins.
Taking into account the persecutions endured by God's saints throughout this Gospel Age, there must be a heavy account on the book of Justice to be settled. Saintly Catholics, saintly Presbyterians, saintly Baptists, saintly Methodists, saintly people in and out of all denominations have suffered; and Jesus' words still stand [OV347] true--namely, that whosoever would give to the least of His followers even a cup of cold water would not fail of reward, and that injury to even the least of these would be punished.
Are we asked what are the special sins of our day? We reply that here, as in Jesus' day, hypocrisy is the greatest of all sins. There were thefts, murders, adulteries and injustices of various kinds in Jesus' day; yet while denouncing all these in spirit He practically ignored them all in His denunciations of the hypocrisy of the religious rulers of His time. We believe that His judgment of so-called "Christendom" to-day is the same.
There was a time when the world ignorantly thought that the kings of the earth were ruling as part of Christ's Kingdom. There was a time when men really believed that their everlasting destiny was in the hands of the clergy, Protestant and Catholic, and that unless they had the good offices of these in baptism, marriage, funerals, etc., they would be eternally tormented; but that day has passed-- a more enlightened day has come.
Our Bible is better understood; the clergy are no longer deceived. They know that the word Sheol of the Old Testament and the word Hades of the New Testament represent the state or condition of death, into which the whole world goes--good and bad. They know that these words could not represent torture or fire in any sense of the word. They see God's character more clearly; they perceive that the kingdoms of this world are merely political institutions permitted for a time, waiting for the glorious epoch of Messiah's Kingdom to bring in the New Order of Things.
But notwithstanding this knowledge the Divine character is still blasphemed. The kings of the earth told during the "dark ages" that they were the sword of the Lord and servants of the Church, have not been undeceived. Hence the Czar of Russia, the Head of the Greek Church, believes he is working out a Divine destiny; the British under King George are equally convinced that they are working out a great destiny as God's Kingdom. The German Kaiser is similarly deceived into thinking that he is the sword of the Almighty, as indicated in his reported proclamation to his army in Poland.
These false doctrines of the "dark ages" are bearing a terrible fruitage in the present war. Similarly, the teachings of eternal torment, misrepresenting and blaspheming God's character, are bearing an evil fruitage. Millions of people are being turned away from faith in a God of Love and from faith in the Bible as His Message by the most monstrous blasphemies of the "dark ages." I charge the responsibility of all this against the sects and creeds of Christendom.
A great fraud, a great hypocrisy, you say? I answer, Yes; the most astounding the world has ever known. Two hundred thousand professed ministers of God and Christ are standing before the world to-day telling the legends of the Dark Ages and seeking to hinder the people from coming to a knowledge of the Truth, meanwhile receiving the people's money and reverence. Does not such hypocrisy, such blasphemy against God, such deception of the people, such keeping them in darkness, deserve a great punishment?
What shall we do, do you ask? I answer: Be honest! Be true! Come out of Babylon. Stand free from all such slandering of the Almighty God and His gracious provisions. Stand for the Bible, the Truth, the God of Love and Wisdom, Justice and Power. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."
[OV348]
THE NEW DAY DAWNS
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington
and Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, to the glory of God."-- Philippians 2:10,11. FOR six great Days of a thousand years each the world of mankind has experienced a reign of Sin and Death. Physicians, both physical and moral, have been unable to effect a cure. God alone is able to roll away the curse which He Himself imposed, and to give mankind His blessing instead.
In the past we have been so intent on following our own sectarian schemes and theories that we have neglected the proper study of the Bible. Indeed, not until our day has such a study been possible for the masses. Only now do they have the Word of God in their possession in convenient form in every family, and only now is education so general as to permit all to read, all to study, all to know the good things of the Divine promises.
The Creeds of the Dark Ages did indeed din into our ears the message of the curse. Yea, they distorted it and made it a message of eternal torture; whereas the Scriptures declare that "the wages of sin is death"--not eternal torment. In our darkness we mistranslated and misinterpreted God's Word to our own confusion, swallowing also some interpolations without proper scrutiny. No wonder that we were nauseated by those creeds! No wonder that the intelligent portion of humanity was in danger of being driven into infidelity--away from God and from His Book, which we misunderstood and misrepresented!
Bible students are arousing from their sleep and finding that they have long suffered from nocturnal hallucinations. The true message of the word of God is spreading, and with it goes increase of faith, together with joy, peace and godliness.
Foregleams of the New Day.
We have all noted the fact that ours is the most wonderful day of earth's history. Our eyes open wide as we note the contrast between the blessings which surround us and those enjoyed by our fathers. Surely we are all amazed at what we see of progress in invention of labor-saving machinery, of educational arrangements, of improvement in stock-breeding, in horticulture, etc. We reflect further that with the progress of invention the necessity of arduous labor and sweat of face for the daily bread will soon be at an end; and the necessary leisure, conveniences and comforts which will permit every man to be a nobleman will soon be available to all.
What do these things mean? Why have they come suddenly upon us in one generation? Yea, and give no indication of slacking, but rather of progressing to still greater wonders! What is the explanation of all this?
The Bible alone gives the reply to these queries. It explains to us the meaning of the reign of Sin and Death which we and our forefathers have shared. It tells us that our sorrows, aches, pains and weaknesses--mental, moral and physical--are all the results of sin--of the sin which Father Adam entailed upon us by the laws of heredity for the six great Days of a thousand years each, already past.
Then to our astonishment the Bible opens the door of the future and bids us look abroad and see the better Day which God promises. It explains that He has been giving us lessons respecting the exceeding sinfulness of sin, but that all the while He has sympathized with and loved His creatures. It tells us that as a beginning of the [OV349] Divine purpose of rolling away the curse and of giving instead Divine blessings, Jesus came into the world and died for Adam and his race, "the just for the unjust," to cancel their judicial obligations--the death penalty upon them--and thus to give them an opportunity in God's due time to return to their former estate, to all that Adam lost--to the perfection which was his when he was in the image of God, and to all that was his in his glorious estate--Paradise.
That Day Has Come.
Chronologically we are already in the great Seventh Day, or Thousand-year Sabbath: we are already forty years into that great Day. This fact explains the blessings which are ours and which are coming to us increasingly. This progress will continue throughout the great Thousand-year Sabbath of Messiah's Kingdom. The Bible promises that the Messianic Reign shall bring blessedness to every creature--not only to the living, but to the dead; for "all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth."-- John 5:28,29, R.V.
All must be given a full opportunity to come into harmony with the Creator and to attain perfection and everlasting life. Only by personal, wilful, intelligent sin can any one's blessings be turned into the second curse of God, the Second Death, from which there will be no redemption.
Incidentally, let us note that the coming of those blessings is, in one sense, premature, in that they have come to us before the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. Consequently, instead of being happier because of these favors, the world is more unhappy, more discontented, than ever. The Scriptures show that the discontent will culminate in a short, sharp period of anarchy, from which the world will be rescued by the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom.
The permission of the light and blessings of our day, in advance of Messiah's Rule, the Creator intends shall teach humanity a great lesson respecting their own fallen condition and their need of the very help which God is providing in Christ. None shall have the opportunity of erroneously supposing that God's blessings, coming to unregenerate hearts, will make them thankful and happy. The new heart is necessary to real happiness.
We also incidentally see that if God had sent or permitted the light of our day with its blessings a thousand years sooner, then the discontent of humanity would have culminated in anarchy a thousand years sooner--and before the Divinely arranged time for the establishment of Messiah and His Bride, the Church, in glory for the ruling, blessing and uplifting of humanity.
Truth Discerned Aids Faith.
As we gradually come to realize that we are living in the dawning of the time for the long-promised blessing, this Sabbath Day of earth, when the curse shall roll away, it gives us a fresh interest in all the affairs of the present life, as well as in those features of the Divine Plan which are yet future! The knowledge makes life worth living. Millions of people live a treadmill existence, unworthy of themselves and joyless, because they have not come into the family of God and have not been taught to understand the deep things of His gracious purposes.
The first step is an acknowledgment of the Creator and a consecration of life to Him, and then an application of our hearts to know His will, in order that we may do it. One day of such living is worth more than a year of the aimless meandering common to the masses. All who have entered into this blessing should rejoice therein. All who have not done so should seek the Door, Christ, and be glad to walk the narrow way, following His footsteps into grace and peace Divine.
We may indeed rejoice in the lessening of the sweat of face coming to mankind, in the dawning of this New Day. We may indeed rejoice in the [OV350] greater spread of knowledge to every class. We may indeed rejoice in the more comfortable housing, feeding and clothing of our race. We may indeed praise the Day which is ushering in these blessings, and which through irrigation canals and artesian wells, scientific study and teachers, books and newspapers, is making the wilderness to blossom as the rose, and many blades of grass to grow where one alone grew previously, bringing increased fruitfulness. But much is to be desired still--much that we cannot accomplish for ourselves. We need an outside influence, an outside power-- the very one which the Word of God declares is about to take control--Messiah's Kingdom.
Our blessings thus far are not drawing the masses nearer to God--not making them more thankful, more holy, more reverential, more loving. On the contrary, we are becoming more strifeful, more self-willed, than any previous generation--less inclined as a world than ever before to worship and reverence the God of all grace-- less inclined to believe that there is such a Being at all. At the present rate of growth of irreverence, it would seem as though the time might soon come when no knee would bow and no tongue confess, to the glory of God.
But here we look to God to see what provision He has made for present conditions; and as we look, our hearts are cheered. We have the Divinely solemn declaration that the full end of the reign of Sin and Death has come. And we have outlined in God's Word proofs that we are now living in the time when that new Reign of Righteousness shall be inaugurated. We have prayed for it with more or less of faith all our lives: "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, even as it is done in Heaven."
Permit not faith to let go her hold; the Word of God cannot fail. As He is bringing to us the temporal blessings promised in His Word and appropriate to this time--the New Dispensation-- let us trust Him for every other feature of His promised blessing. He who has begun the good work is able to complete it. If He has promised and has sworn to this promise, that all the families of the earth shall be blessed in Abraham's seed, surely we may rely upon it. If we see at present only the Spiritual Seed of Abraham in full harmony with God through Christ, and they not glorified, let us wait patiently for the Lord, knowing that He will fulfill His promises in due time.
The Church, the Elect, are indeed the Spiritual Seed of Abraham. This class, as the Bride of Christ, must be completed and must be united to their Redeemer by the change of the First Resurrection before they will be qualified to share with Him the great work of blessing the Natural Seed of Abraham. --Galatians 3:8,16,29.
The completion and glorification of the Church will mark the time for the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. Then will begin the pouring out of the Divine blessing and the removal of the curse. Satan will be bound for a thousand years. The knowledge of God will gradually fill the whole earth. The natural Seed of Abraham will be the first to receive the Restitution blessings--to return to the image and likeness of God in the flesh, and to have returned to them Paradise conditions and Divine favor. The ancient saintly ones of the Jewish race, we are assured, shall be made princes in all the earth for the correction of their brethren, Natural Israel, and for the instruction and assistance of the people of every nation, kindred and tongue --the living and the dead.
Paradise Restored.
Rapidly the knowledge of the glory of God will fill the whole earth. Corrections in righteousness will be meted out to all not doing their very best to come into harmony with the Divine Law. Blessed rewards of increasing perfection of mind and body will gradually come to the willing and obedient in that Day. The wilful evil-doers shall be cut off in the Second Death. Then, as a result, before the thousand years of Messiah's Kingdom shall expire, [OV351] every knee shall bow, to the glory of God.
Meantime, also, the blessings of Paradise will be coming to the earth as a whole. God will make the place of His feet glorious. (Isaiah 60:13, 66:1.) Jesus will see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. (Isaiah 53:10,11.) All those who have suffered for righteousness' sake during the reign of Sin and Death will be more than compensated therefor in the blessings and joys of the New Dispensation. The knowledge of the glory of God shall fill the whole earth. The glorious Divine character will be made manifest, not only to angels, but to men. The infinitude of God's love, justice, wisdom and power may then be seen by all; whereas to-day, under the reign of Sin and Death, with minds beclouded by the errors instilled by the Prince of Darkness, the opposite condition--darkness--covers the earth and gross darkness the heathen.
What a glorious consummation is before us! What lengths and breadths of human possibility in perfection we see with the eye of faith! Man was made in the image and likeness of his Creator, and the earth was provided to be his everlasting home. The curse that has rested upon the earth and its king has brought both to angels and to men valuable lessons, which perhaps could not have been learned under any other process of instruction.
The result will be glorious, as described by the Master himself. There shall be no more sighing, no more curse there, nor sorrow nor pain nor any more dying; for all the things of sin and death will have passed away. He who sits upon the Throne will make all things new.-- Revelation 21:4,5.
The Prophet Isaiah declares that Jehovah will do these things, and that every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue confess. (Isaiah 45:23.) St. Paul applies this Scripture, and declares that it will be fulfilled through Jesus, and incidentally it will be fulfilled by the Church through Jesus. The thought is that in acknowledging Christ and the Church and in bowing to them, the world will be bowing to Jehovah; for the Logos, Jesus, the Redeemer, forever will be the Representative of the Father and His Power. Hence all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father--not honor the Son as the Father, but as the Father's direct Representative-- Heir of all things.--John 5:23; Hebrews 1:2.
The elect Church of the present time already bows the knee to Jesus as the Representative of the Heavenly Father, and already enjoys a great blessing through this special relationship into which she has entered and which is to be completed in her resurrection change. Jesus, as the great King of Glory, and His Bride class, as the great Queen of Glory, will be distinctly separate from the world--sharers of an altogether different salvation. These, begotten of the Holy Spirit, are promised a participation in the Divine nature, which is far above that of the angels, the Apostle assures us.
For the same reason that God is invisible to men, Christ and the Church will be invisible, though all-powerful. The blessings of human Restitution that they will bring mankind will be conveyed through earthly channels, of whom Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the Prophets and faithful ones of Israel will be leaders, or princes, as God has declared. These shall not judge by the hearing of the ear or by the sight of the eye, but shall judge righteous judgment.--Isaiah 11:3.
No mistakes will be made; no evil deed shall fail of just recompense; even attempts to commit crimes must cease. Every knee shall bow to the Power then in control, and every tongue confess to the justice of the arrangement. Gradually the new order will appeal to the hearts of mankind, and what at first was obedience by force will become obedience from love and appreciation of righteousness. Eventually all who obey merely because of compulsion will be cut off in the Second Death.
[OV352]
Jesus Died a Human--Raised a Spirit
Being
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington
and Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"With what body do they come?"-- 1 Corinthians 15:35. IN OUR CONTEXT, St. Paul shows that without God's purpose of a resurrection those who have fallen asleep in death would have perished as do brute beasts. Then he assures us that "Christ has risen from the dead and become the First-fruits of them that slept." Others, indeed, were awakened temporarily; as, for instance, Jarius' daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus the friend of Jesus. Yet none of these instances is counted as a resurrection: for it is written that Christ is the First-fruits of them that slept. Their awakening was merely of a temporary nature, and they soon relapsed into the death sleep. They did not have a full resurrection --anastasis--a raising up to perfection of life, such as Jesus' redemptive work guarantees to Adam and to all his race who are willing to accept it under the terms of the New Covenant.--Jeremiah 31:31-34.
The Scriptures clearly teach that not the body, but the soul, is promised a resurrection--that it was our Lord's soul that went to Sheol, Hades, the death state; and that God raised Him out of death on the third day. All Christendom has been plunged into difficulties by the unscriptural theory that the body is to be resurrected. We shall now note a few of the difficulties into which this error has plunged us as believers in the Scriptures, particularly in connection with our Redeemer's resurrection.
What Say the Scriptures?
In Christian minds the ordinary thought respecting our Lord's death and resurrection is that when Jesus seemed to die He did not die; that He, the being, the soul, could not die; that, instead, He went to Heaven; and then came back on the third day to get the body which had been crucified; that forty days later He took it to Heaven; that He has had that body ever since; and that to all eternity He will have it, marred with the print of the nails in His hands and His feet, with the marks of the thorns upon his brow, and with the spear wound in His side.
What a ghastly thought! How strange that we should ever have been misled into so unreasonable and unscriptural a theory! Some endeavor to gloss the matter by suggesting that our Lord's flesh is glorified-- that it shines--the shining presumably making the wounds all the more conspicuous.
Our Methodist friends have thus stated the matter: "He ascended up on High, taking His fleshly body with Him, and all that appertained thereto, and sat down on the right hand of God." This medieval statement correctly admits that the fleshly [OV353] body was not the Lord's glorified body, but declares that He, the soul, took it with him as luggage. The clause, "and all that appertained thereto," presumably would refer to our Lord's sandals, walking stick and such clothing as the soldiers did not divide amongst themselves at the time of the crucifixion--if indeed He had any others! But our dear Methodist friends wish to be sure that nothing was left behind.
All this is of a piece with the theory that when the saints die they go to Heaven, but come back later to get their bodies "and all that appertained thereto"--the inconveniences that they have been rid of for centuries! How many truckloads of things appertaining thereto may be taken by some, and how mixed an assortment by others, is not stated. Neither are particulars given respecting those whose clothing, etc., have meantime worn out. But we have had enough of this, if it has helped us to see the absurdity of theories received from the Dark Ages--if it has awakened us to thought and to Bible investigation on this interesting and important subject.
The Bible presentation is in every way reasonable, consistent and harmonious. St. Paul points out that "there is a natural body and there is a spirit body." He neither means nor says that the spirit body is a human body glorified. Quite to the contrary, He declares that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God"--no matter how glorified. A human being is so totally different from a spirit being that, as St. John says, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be," in our resurrection change; and the Scriptures do not even attempt to give us an explanation. --1 John 3:2.
The Bible merely declares that as we now bear the image of the earthly-- Adam--so we shall by the resurrection change be given a share in the nature and the likeness of the Second Adam, our glorious Lord. We shall be like Him and see Him as He is. But, be it noted, we must be changed from flesh and blood conditions to spirit conditions by resurrection power, in order to see Him as He is. Surely this fact proves that our Lord Jesus is no longer flesh, as once He was--"in the days of His flesh."--Hebrews 5:7.
Heavenly Bodies vs. Earthly Bodies.
St. Paul calls attention to the difference between celestial bodies and terrestrial or earthly bodies, and declares that they have different glories. He tells us that the first Adam was made a living soul, a human being, but that our Redeemer, who humbled Himself and took the earthly nature--"for the suffering of death" (Hebrews 2:9)-- thereby became the Second Adam, the Heavenly Lord. The wide distinction between the Second Adam and the first Adam is clearly set forth; one was earthly, and the other is Heavenly.
St. Paul illustrates by saying that we know of many kinds of organisms on the earthly or fleshly plane one flesh of man another of beasts, another of birds and another of fishes. But however different the organisms, they are all earthly. So, on the Heavenly plane, the spirit plane, there are varieties of organisms, but all are spirit.
Our Heavenly Father is the Head or Chief--"God is a Spirit." Cherubim, seraphim and the still lower order of angels are all spirit beings. Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, after finishing the work of sacrificing appointed Him, was resurrected to the spirit plane-- far above angels, principalities and powers--next to the Father. (Ephesians 1:20-23.) Thus we read: "He was put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) in the spirit."-- 1 Peter 3:18.
The more we examine the subject the more foolish and unscriptural the views handed down from the Dark Ages appear. The Scriptures clearly set forth that our Redeemer, prior to becoming a man, was a spirit being-- "the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." His leaving the spirit plane to become a man is Scripturally described as a great humiliation. Is it reasonable to suppose that [OV354] the Heavenly Father would perpetuate to all eternity that humiliation, after it had served its purpose? Surely not.
The Bible tells us why Jesus humbled himself to the human nature--"a little lower than the angels." A man had sinned; and under the Divine Law the Redeemer must be on the same plane of being as the one whom He would redeem. Thus Jehovah particularly specified--"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." Hence the death of an angel or of our Lord in His prehuman condition could not have effected the payment of man's penalty and the consequent release of the condemned race. Thus again we read, "A body hast Thou prepared Me"--"for the suffering of death."-- Hebrews 10:5; 2:9.
No one questions that this applies exclusively to our Lord's experiences during the years in which "He who was rich became poor for our sakes, that we through His poverty might be made rich." Surely it is unsupposable that the Father would arrange a Plan by which our Redeemer's faithfulness in accomplishing man's redemption would cost Him an eternity of poverty, humiliation, degradation to a plane "a little lower than the angels;" while the Church would be made rich and would attain a spirit state "far above angels" --be made "partakers of the Divine nature."--2 Peter 1:4.
"God Highly Exalted Him."
The very same Apostle who tells of our Lord's humiliation carries the matter to the climax, telling us of His faithfulness, as the Man Christ Jesus, even unto the death of the cross. Then he adds an assurance of the Heavenly Father's faithfulness in not leaving His Son on a lower plane: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and hath given Him a name above every name."--Philippians 2:8-11.
This is in harmony with our Lord's words in His prayer to the Father. Ignoring the promises of a higher glory as a reward for His faithfulness, He prayed, "Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (John 17:5.) In humility He asked no reward, but was quite content to serve the Father's Plan and then to return to His former glorious estate. The Heavenly Father's response to that prayer was, "I have glorified Thee, and I will glorify Thee again," or further--the implication of a still higher glory than that which He enjoyed before He was made flesh.
The Unconsecrated Cannot Understand.
In the consideration of spiritual problems two lines of difficulties present themselves. When a natural-minded man undertakes to reason these subjects out, he finds them impossible of comprehension. St. Paul explains this difficulty, saying, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14.) He proceeds to tell us that all men are natural men except such as have been begotten again by the Holy Spirit. In their resurrection all natural men will receive earthly or human bodies, while all spiritual ones, New Creatures in Christ, will receive spirit bodies, as St. Paul explains in our context (1 Corinthians 15:36-50.)
Not all of my hearers can appreciate this--only those begotten again by the Holy Spirit. Others I ask to consider what I say and to hold it, if they please, until such time as, in God's providence, they may be begotten of the Holy Spirit, and thus be enabled to understand spiritual things.
Another class who have difficulty are spirit-begotten, but have been entangled in their reasoning by the declaration of the creeds respecting the resurrection of the body. It is difficult to unlearn error. When visiting foreign lands and learning of the hold of superstition upon the heathen, I concluded that we Christians experience just as much difficulty in unlearning our errors as do the heathen in getting free from theirs. [OV355] He Appeared and Disappeared.
During the forty days following our Lord's resurrection, His appearances to His disciples were but for a few moments each time, and in various bodies--once as a gardener, another time as a traveler, a third time as a stranger on the shore, etc. If all put together, these appearances would probably not have exceeded four hours out of the entire forty days. We were not critical students when we overlooked these things, and forgot to ask ourselves why these things were so.
Now we see more distinctly why our Lord did as He did. His disciples were natural men and could not appreciate spiritual things. Furthermore, they could not receive the guiding of the Holy Spirit until our Lord's ascension and appearance in the Father's presence on behalf of the Church, to make satisfaction for their sins and to make them acceptable joint-subscribers with Himself. Had Jesus ascended immediately after His resurrection the stunned and bewildered disciples would have had no assurance of His resurrection. They would have found it impossible to go out and tell the people that He had risen from the dead when they had no proof to this effect.
Even if Jesus had appeared to them as He did to Saul of Tarsus, this would not have been convincing and satisfactory. They might have said: Here is a phenomenon, but how can we positively associate it with the life and death of Jesus? Matters were different with Saul. He needed something to arouse him thoroughly and to teach him for all time, and others through him, that the Lord is not a man, but "that Spirit." Besides, the disciples were able to give Saul assurances of what they knew respecting Jesus' resurrection and ascension.
Our Lord adopted the only reasonable way of convincing His disciples that He was no longer dead, and that He was no longer human, but had been glorified and had become a spirit being. The two things were necessary, and they were done at the same time.
PRAYER OF THE CONSECRATED
WE seek not, Lord, for tongues of flame,
Or healing virtue's mystic aid;
But power Thy Gospel to proclaim--
The balm for wounds that sin hath made.
Breathe on us, Lord; Thy radiance pour
On all the wonders of the page
Where hidden lies the heavenly lore
That blessed our youth and guides our age.
Grant skill each sacred theme to trace,
With loving voice and glowing tongue,
As when upon Thy words of grace
The wondering crowds enraptured hung.
Grant faith, that treads the stormy deep,
If but Thy voice shall bid it come;
And zeal, that climbs the mountain steep,
To seek and bring the wanderer home.
Give strength, blest Savior, in Thy might;
Illuminate our hearts, and we,
Transformed into Thine image bright,
Shall teach, and love, and live, like Thee!
[OV356]
What is a Christian? What His
Standards?
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."--Acts 26:28. A CHRISTIAN is a person who intelligently believes that he is by nature a sinner, that by divine grace Jesus Christ the righteous died for his sins, and that through faith in the atoning blood and obedience to the Redeemer's teachings he has become "a New Creature in Christ Jesus." For such, "Old things have passed away, and all things have become new." Such New Creatures are separate and distinct from all other members of the race. Instead of earthly aims, ambitions and hopes, theirs are Heavenly.
Getting into Christ's Body.
It is not sufficient that these should make the proper start of faith in Christ and full consecration to do God's will, and not their own wills. It is incumbent upon them, after having made such a start and after having been begotten of the Holy Spirit, that they shall grow in grace, knowledge and love (2 Pet. 3:18.) This is styled "putting on Christ;" that is to say, adding the graces of character which God will accept and reward with association with the Lord Jesus Christ in His Kingdom. For these God has made provision of spiritual food in the Bible--"Meat in due season for the Household of Faith." (Matthew 24:45.) These are represented as at first "babes in Christ," requiring the "milk of the word," but if faithful, gradually attaining full stature-- "strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might."
Such spirit begotten Christians must needs "fight a good fight"--not with others, but with themselves--overcoming the weaknesses and besetments of their own fallen flesh, the allurements of their environment and the wiles of the Adversary. Such as are faithful in these respects are Scripturally styled "overcomers," "the very elect." The promise to them is that they shall have part in the Chief, or best, Resurrection, and thereafter be no longer humans, but spirit beings of the highest order--"partakers of the Divine nature." These in death are "sown in weakness," "in dishonor," human beings, but are raised from the dead "in glory," "in power," spirit beings.-- 1 Corinthians 15:43.
Jesus' promise to these overcomers reads, "To Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in My Throne, even as I overcame and am set down with My Father in His Throne"--"I will give him power over the nations," etc. Again He says: "Blessed and Holy are all those who have part in the Chief Resurrection: on such the Second Death hath no power, but they shall be priests unto God and unto Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."--Rev. 3:21; 22:6; 20:6.
[OV357]
All Jesus' teachings are applicable to this special class; namely, those who became His disciples. He did not assume to be a Teacher of the world, but merely of those who leave the world, sacrificing all to become His disciples. To these He said: "Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Again, "If the world hate you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." The great Teacher did not include the nominal church as His disciples, but rather counted them in with the world. In evidence of this, we note the fact that the world that persecuted Him was the Jewish nation, professedly God's consecrated people; and that those who have persecuted the followers of Jesus have likewise been nominally people of God, but really of the world.
These are the Christians addressed by the Master, saying: "I say unto you that you resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man shall sue thee at law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."--Matthew 5:39-42.
Duties, Rights and Privileges of
Christians.
The thought of non-resistance is here, yet not to the extreme degree supposed by some. The turning of the other cheek, as illustrated by Jesus' own conduct, was a figurative expression, signifying the willingness to have both cheeks smitten rather than to do injury to another. Christians are to be law-abiding, whether they consider the laws just or unjust. If, therefore, the law deprive them of a coat, they are to yield it up. If it go still further and deprive them of their cloak, they are still to be non-resistant to the law, but submit to it with good grace, knowing that hereunto they were called.
Be it noted that neither the coat nor the cloak was to be given up upon demand merely, but only after the law, justly or unjustly, had so decreed. Similarly with respect to the compulsory walking of a mile. The Christian is not to submit himself to every whim of everybody; but seeking to do the will of God, he is to go about his own business, unless the opposition to him amount to a compelling. And this compelling under ordinary circumstances, would mean a legal compelling; for the protection of the laws of the land in which he lives may be sought to protect his rights and liberties, as St. Paul appealed to governors and kings.
Christians Live for the Future.
Christians are to love their enemies in the same sense that God loves the world--sympathetically. They are not to love their enemies in the sense of affectionate love and tenderness, such as they bestow upon their families, friends and lovable persons. Their love for their enemies as defined by Jesus should be such as would lead them to feed their bitterest enemy, if he were hungry, to clothe him if he were naked. They should not pray against their enemies, but for their enemies in the sense of wishing, desiring, for them enlightenment and true wisdom, which would turn them from being enemies and evil-doers, to make of them followers of Jesus, or, at least, well-doers.
Christians are not to lay up for themselves treasures on earth; for they have renounced the earth and all hopes of a future life upon the earth. Their walk in the footsteps of Jesus signifies that as He cast aside earthly ambitions, hopes and aims, so would they, taking instead the Heavenly ambitions, hopes and aims. In other words, they live for the future. This will not hinder them from the ordinary pursuits of life to the extent that may be necessary in "providing things honest in the sight of all men"--in providing for their families, etc. But, with these Christians, any overplus above life's necessities represents so much opportunity for serving the Lord and His [OV358] Cause; and in so doing, these are laying up treasure in Heaven--a future reward.
This does not signify that they must live from "hand to mouth," nor that if they have possessions they must riotously distribute these to others. On the contrary, they are to seek in all things to have the mind of the Lord--to do God's will. God's mind is a sound mind; and these Christians, in seeking to do God's will, are said to have "the spirit of a sound mind." This dictates that they should live wisely and economically.
Christian Stewardship and Citizenship.
To these Christians, everything that comes to them or that they possess by nature is considered a thing of God, because in becoming followers of Christ, they made a full consecration of their wills--their all--to God. Hence from that moment forward these Christians are stewards of God's mercies--stewards of their time, their talents, their influence, their property-- their all. According to the way they use their stewardship, investing their talents to the Master's praise, will be His commendation of them, as represented in the parable. Whether many talents are possessed or few, the commendation is to those who have done well, have been good and faithful in the use of their talents, not for self-aggrandizement or show, or worldly accumulations of treasure, but faithful in the service of God, showing forth God's praises in the assisting of others and themselves to the knowing and doing of the Divine will.
Christians are to "lend, hoping for nothing in return," and not as the world, merely to be willing to do good and to lend to those who would do as much or more in return. Christians are thus to illustrate the fact that they are children of the Highest, and that they have been begotten of God, that they have His Holy Spirit and disposition, and that it is shining out more and more in their words and conduct as they grow in the character likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christians are not to go to war. Their fight is not to be with carnal weapons, but with "the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." They have the most powerful weapon known in the world for their warfare. This does not signify that they may not put bolts and bars upon their doors to prevent robbery. It does not signify that they may not call for police protection; for this is a thing they pay for in taxation and are entitled to according to the laws of the world. They may not claim of their own nation anything that an alien might not claim; but they may claim all that an alien may claim. Indeed, Christians are styled aliens, strangers, foreigners, so far as the present government of the world is concerned. Their citizenship, according to the Bible, is the Heavenly one, which they will fully enter into when they shall have shared the Chief Resurrection.
No Christian Nations.
The Bible knows nothing of Christian nations or of a Christian world. The Bible puts the Christian as separate and distinct from the world and from all nations. Christians are a nation, or people, by themselves, in the same sense that the Jews are a nation, or people by themselves. "Ye are a Royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people"--a people for a purpose. (1 Pet. 2:9.) The term Christian nation comes from a serious doctrinal error which crept into the Church about 800 A.D. At that time Pope Leo III began to recognize as Christian nations all the nations which recognized his Pontificate. The custom has prevailed and is still in vogue amongst Protestants and Catholics; but it is wholly unscriptural.
A Christian conscripted to the army or the navy would be subject to the "powers that be," and obeying the Master's words, would go, as in Matthew 5:41: "Whosoever shall compel thee to go." The Christian compelled to enter the army or the navy might properly request service as a noncombatant in the Quartermaster's Department [OV359] or in the Hospital Department, but if required to kill he is to obey God rather than man, and not kill. He may comply with his orders to the extent of going into the trenches and being shot at, but no further.
Is it urged that such a view of Christianity would wreck our present civilization? We reply that nothing in the Bible implies that our civilization is Christian, or that the Lord ever expected it to be Christian. God's time for saving the world from its sin and weakness has not yet come. The present is merely the time for calling, finding, testing and delivering the Elect. The Elect, when glorified, will constitute Messiah's Kingdom, and with Him will be empowered fully with spiritual control for the government of the entire world.
Then will come the time for the enlightenment and uplift and blessing of all mankind--the non-elect. Theirs will not be a blessing of the same kind that the elect will secure, but a blessing which they will appreciate equally. The world's blessing and salvation will not signify a change of nature from human to spirit, but a restitution to human perfection.--Acts 3:19-23.
What are to-day styled "Christian nations" are in the Bible styled "Kingdoms of this World," and their complete disintegration is Scripturally outlined as incidental to the establishment of God's glorious Kingdom under Messiah, for which we pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on earth, even as in Heaven."
Some may wonder how it ever came to pass that all the people of civilized lands are enumerated as Christians-- except Jews and professed infidels. Statistics tell us that all the inhabitants of Italy are Christians; that more than ninety-nine per cent of the population of Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, etc., are Christians --and that the total number of Christians thus reckoned is nearly five hundred millions. Surely it is time that intelligent people realize that some great mistake has been made, and that more than ninety-nine per cent of these "Christians" make no pretense of being followers of Jesus.
The error arose in the now long ago. When Pope Leo III recognized a King as a Christian king and his kingdom as a Christian kingdom, he recognized that King's subjects as Christian. There we have the matter in a nutshell. The whole thing was a mistake. The King was not a Christian, did not know the meaning of Christianity, and was not taught it. His Kingdom was not a Christian Kingdom, and his people were not Christians.
Meantime, here and there, obscured to the world, there have been true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in every denomination. They have been out of accord generally with the great leaders of the church systems, as well as with the political leaders of the world. It has been true of them as the Apostle wrote: "The world knoweth us not, even as it knew Him not." (1 John 3:1.) The world does not yet know, understand or appreciate that the Church of Christ is not to be found in any of the professed churches of various names--Roman, English, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, etc. The Church of Christ is composed exclusively of those who have made a covenant with the Lord through faith in the precious blood, who have been accepted of the Lord by the begetting of the Holy Spirit, and who are seeking to walk to the best of their ability in the footsteps of Jesus.--1 Pet. 2:21.
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory.
The theory that Christians only are saved from eternal torture has had much to do with the error of counting all civilized people Christians. The creeds save Christians only--Jews, Mohammedans, heathen, all go to Hell to roast eternally. Roman Catholics provide a second chance for members of their church, in Purgatory; and many Protestants hold to a second chance for the heathen who have never heard of Christ. All the while, however, the Bible declares for only one [OV360] chance, but that a full one for every member of the human family.
The only chance offered during this Gospel Age is the opportunity of becoming a member of the Church--a true follower of Jesus. Such are to get the Heavenly inheritance, but not until the Resurrection. The remainder of the world will be offered an earthly future; and this offer will begin with the establishment of Messiah's Kingdom of a thousand years.
The Bible nowhere teaches that either saint or sinners pass to conscious condition at death. The Bible declares that all "sleep" and that the awakening time will be at the second coming of the Redeemer to establish His Kingdom. The First Resurrection will be the Church, and subsequently "every man in his own order." When once the fact is grasped that the Bible Hell is the grave--Sheol, Hades--then all is plain.
The great Divinely arranged Purgatory, to last a thousand years, will be glorious. All the heathen and the ignorant, superstitious millions of Christendom, who were taught to call themselves Christians, but who knew that they were not, will have the opportunity of coming to a knowledge of the true God and of His gracious provision for them.
GIDEON'S ARMY IN ANTITYPE
ARISE! Then, O! Army of Gideon,
Let him that is fearful return;
Jehovah wants only the zealous,
Whose hearts with the love of truth burn.
Ten thousand remain! Still too many;
Once more He their loyalty proves,
To see who most faithfully serves Him,
To see who most fervently loves.
O! ye, who have sworn Him allegiance,
Mark well! He is now testing you,
With the water of truth He will prove you,
To see who is loyal and true.
Look well to your drinking, then, brother,
That you no impurities trace,
Take your lamp, your pitcher and trumpet,
And stand every man in his place!
Your sword is the "Sword of the Spirit,"
Your lamp is the light from His Word,
Your pitcher, this poor earthen vessel,
You break at the voice of your Lord.
Is your lamp burning bright in your pitcher?
Doth your trumpet give forth "certain sound?"
Soon the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon
The enemy's host will confound.
For sure is the victory promised,
And great is the peace He awards--
Then, "stand" in your place, all ye faithful,
The battle's not yours, but the Lord's!
[OV361]
Two Escape From Hell--No Torment
There!
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"In Hell he lifted up his eyes."-- Luke 16:23. THOSE who wrote the Bible did their duty well. The Old Testament, covering the history of over four thousand years, tells us that all mankind at death go to Sheol--the tomb. The New Testament --written in Greek--tells the same story, using the word Hades as the translation of the Hebrew Sheol. It is in modern translations of the Bible that difficulty is encountered, particularly in the English. Nearly all these translations have been made within the last five hundred years. For 1300 years before the Bible had been little known, because not translated into the languages of the people, and because few could have read it if it had been translated.
In the Second Century the theory prevailed that the bishops were as much inspired as the Apostles and Jesus; for they were called Apostolic bishops. Bible study was considered unnecessary, because these Apostolic bishops were on the spot to give up-to-date information and communications from God. Then followed thirteen centuries of no Bible study, during which time, as the Apostles had forewarned, grievous wolves had come into the flock, making merchandise of the sheep for their own profit. (Acts 20:26-31.) Gradually the doctrines became so mingled with errors that the false teachers enslaved the people with fear, and then extorted money for the relief of the fears.
When Bible study revived in the Fifteenth Century, the errors were so intrenched in men's minds that their thoughts were colored respecting every feature of faith. Those who translated the Bible doubtless did their best to set forth its meaning, but unconsciously gave little twists, in their endeavor to have the Bible say what they thought it meant. As an illustration, note John 5:29. There the translators have given us the expression, "resurrection of damnation," when nothing in the Greek justified the word damnation. The Revised Version renders it properly, "resurrection of judgment"-- trial.
When the Hebrew word Sheol was being translated, Hell was the nearest word to fit their ideas. Hence they translated it Hell as many times as possible; and only when this was impossible did they give something approaching the proper translation--the grave. There is another word for grave--qeber, a sepulchre, a mound, a monument. But doing their best to make Hell out of Sheol, they could only so translate it less than one-half of the whole number of occurrences. The Revised translation retains the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades, saying, Let the reader find out what it means; doubtless he will think that Sheol is the "hot place," and so the [OV362] common people will not know what an egregious blunder was made by the theologians.
Good men who know better permit their congregations to think that they believe in a burning Hell of torture, when privately they confess to the contrary. But they say, Let us not do good, lest evil follow--let us not tell the people, lest fewer would then come to church, and the power of superstition, which holds so many, be broken. Poor men! They seem blind to the fact that these devilish doctrines are driving intelligent people away from God, from the Bible, and from the churches.
Two Escape from Hell.
The Bible tells of several who were released from Sheol, but of two the very word is used. The Prophet Jonah, swallowed by the great fish, was in its belly parts of three days. He calls it his tomb-belly--a sheol-belly. While there entombed, he cried unto the Lord in prayer, and the Lord delivered him. Jesus tells us that Jonah's experiences typified His own--that as Jonah was buried in the sheol-belly of the fish, He would be buried in the Sheol of earth. As Jonah came forth on the third day, so Jesus came forth. St. Peter points out that this was prophesied of Jesus, saying, "Thou wilt not leave My soul in (Sheol or) Hades"--the tomb. He says that God fulfilled this by raising Jesus from the dead.--Acts 2:27.
Whoever gets the proper focus will see that all, good and bad, go down to the tomb--to Sheol, Hades, called in our Bibles Hell. The Scriptures very distinctly tell us that "the dead know not anything;" that "their sons come to honor, and they know it not; and to dishonor, and they perceive it not of them." Why? Because, as again the Scriptures say, "There is neither wisdom nor knowledge, nor device, in Sheol, whither thou goest"-- whither all go. This exactly accords with the divine statements, "The wages of sin is death;" "The soul that sinneth it shall die." There is not a word in the Bible for the commonly accepted thought that those who die go to Heaven or Purgatory or eternal torment. All these teachings are found in the various creeds; the Bible alone tells the simple story, reasonable, harmonious.
Gehenna Fire--Second Death.
It is true that Jesus used the words Gehenna fire, and that our translators mixed up the English reader by translating this word Hell, the same as Hades. But as all scholars will admit, Jesus used the word fire here symbolically, just as we use it, to represent destruction. Thus our newspapers tell about the great conflagration in Europe--not literally fire, but war, causing great destruction.
So Jesus pointed out that, although He had come to save men from death, and eventually by a resurrection to lift up all who had gone down to Hades, nevertheless the relief would be only temporary, except to those who would conform to Divine Law. All others under the Second Trial would be condemned as unworthy of everlasting life and would die again. This Second Death would be everlasting, because Christ would not die again for those who would sin wilfully after being released from the first sentence.
Pointing to the valley outside of Jerusalem, used as a garbage furnace and called in the Greek Gehenna, and in Hebrew Valley of Hinnom, and also Tophet, Jesus declared that it illustrated the fate of all wilful sinners. Dead cats and dogs, etc., were thrown into the Valley of Hinnom, Gehenna, where fires were kept burning, and where brimstone was burned to kill the germs.
It is said that criminals of the worst type, after execution, were thrown into that valley, as intimating that they would not share in the resurrection. This thought Jesus emphasized--the utter destruction, in the Second Death, of any found incorrigible after having received full opportunity of return [OV363] to God through the merit of Christ's sacrifice. The Bible everywhere holds out the thought that the Church now, and the world in its trial Day future, will be in danger of Gehenna destruction --the Second Death. Speaking of wilful sinners against full light, St. Paul says: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction." (2 Thess. 1:7-9.) St. Peter says, they shall perish "like natural brute beasts."--2 Peter 2:12.
Release from Sheol, Hades, the Tomb.
Bible students know that Sheol and Hades could not be places of eternal torture; for the Scriptures say that they shall be destroyed. If Sheol and Hades are to be destroyed, how could anybody be tortured there everlastingly? The clergy know these things very well, but hide them from the people. Hosea 13:14 reads, "O grave (Sheol), I will be thy destruction!" 1 Corinthians 15:55, "O grave (Hades), where is thy victory?" Revelation 20:14, "Death and Hell (Hades), shall be cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death."
These Scriptures mean that the grave shall not always triumph over the human family, that mankind will be delivered by Messiah's Kingdom from the power of the tomb, that we can rely upon God's promise that ultimately Hades, the tomb, will be destroyed in the Second Death, symbolically represented by the Lake of Fire. Note that the symbol is explained --"the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death."
In other words, all that are in their graves, in the tomb, the prison-house of death, shall ultimately be set free by the great Deliverer, the glorified Christ, who already has laid down His life as the Ransom-price, that sinners might not perish, but have the opportunity of everlasting life.
This opportunity has yet come only to the church, and to her by promise. Her covenant is to follow in her Master's footsteps unto death, and the promise is that she shall have a superior resurrection, because of greater trials of faith and obedience to sacrifice. "The gates of Hell shall not prevail against her." (Matthew 16:18.) That is, as the Heavenly Father raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, so the gates of death shall not prevail against the Church.--1 Cor. 15:42-44.
With the world it will be different. Everything under the New Dispensation will prove that the reign of sin and Satan has terminated, that the Reign of Righteousness has begun. They will find themselves, not only coming back from the tomb, "every man in his own order," but gradually raised out of imperfection and weakness back to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary if they will follow instructions. The great prison house will give up the prisoners; for He who died on Calvary obtained the key of Hades, as He tells us.--Isaiah 49:9; Revelation 1:18.
The Rich Man in Hell.
The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus would seem very simple if our minds had not been perverted with error; but, filled with the perversion, many find this parable difficult to understand and are inclined to throw away the entire Bible because of it. We hope to make the matter very plain. To be thorough, we must note the fact that lovers of the eternal torment doctrine insist that this is not a parable, but a literal description. Let us see. Does it seem reasonable to say that with nothing said about his character as being either mortal or immortal, but simply on account of his fine clothes, his sumptuous food and his riches, a man should be eternally roasted? Is that a logical interpretation?
Similarly, it is not said that Lazarus was moral or immoral, but merely that he was poor, ate crumbs at the rich man's gate, and was full of sores, which dogs licked. Is it reasonable to suppose that sores and destitution, without character, would be qualifications for Heaven? Surely not! If all [OV364] rich people go to eternal torment, if all people who wear fine linen and purple clothing and have plenty to eat must suffer to all eternity, what an aristocratic place Hell would be, and how full it would be! On the other hand, if only those who have sores and dogs to lick them, who lie at a rich man's gate and eat crumbs from his table, go to Heaven, how few of us will get there! Moreover, if it is a literal statement, then Abraham here is a literal person, as well as Lazarus; and when Lazarus would get into his bosom, how many more could Abraham hold without letting some drop?
Surely this is not a literal statement, but a parable. Let us treat it from this viewpoint, remembering that a parable never means what it says. For instance, in the parable of the Wheat and Tares, the wheat does not mean wheat, but "children of the Kingdom;" the tares, "children of the Wicked One." Accordingly, the Rich Man does not mean a rich man, but stands for some class; and Lazarus does not mean a poor man, but stands for some class. Let us thus apply the matter.
Interpretation of the Parable.
We suggest that the Rich Man of the parable represented the Jewish nation, rich in God's favor. They "fared sumptuously" as no other people did. To them belonged the promise of the Kingdom, represented by the purple raiment of royalty. As a people they had the purging of their sins, typical justification, accomplished on their annual Atonement Day. This was their "fine linen," representing that righteousness was thus imputed to them as a people.
In A.D. 70, the Rich Man, the Jewish nation, died, when the last vestige of their government was destroyed by Titus, the Roman General. The nation has been asleep in Hades ever since, though the Jews have been very much alive and have suffered many things, especially amongst professed Christians of the tare class. Zionism, which has sprung up within the past thirty years, is the revival of hope that the Rich Man will be resurrected from Hades; and present indications point to this as a matter of speedy accomplishment --as soon as the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come into Spiritual Israel.--Romans 11:25-32.
Lazarus represented outcasts who desired favor with God, but were "aliens and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel"--Gentiles. They had no table with Divine promises from which to "fare sumptuously every day," no share in the promises of royalty represented by the purple robes, no "fine linen," representing justification from sin. Those things belonged to the Jew exclusively, until his national rejection and the subsequent opening of the door to the Gentiles, that they might become fellow-heirs with the saintly Jews, and followers of Jesus in the glorious things of God's arrangement.
As the Jew died to his favors, so the Gentile died to his disfavor. As angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's bosom, so the early Jewish Church, messengers of God and Christ, received believing Gentiles into full fellowship as brethren of the Seed of Abraham. This figuratively is described as Lazarus in Abraham's bosom--treated as his child.
The Rich Man represented especially two tribes--Judah and Benjamin. Proportionately, the five brethren would represent the ten tribes. The parable represents the Rich Man as saying, I have five brethren. May not something be done for them? The answer shows that only Israelites could be meant--"They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." Only the twelve tribes of Israel had Moses and the Prophets. The Gentiles had them not.
"In Hell He Lifted Up His Eyes."
The dogs licking the sores in the parable represent that the Lazarus class were companions of dogs--indeed, "dogs" was a name which Jews commonly gave Gentiles. Jesus Himself [OV365] used it, and gives an illustration of how believing Gentiles occasionally ate crumbs from the Rich Man's table. The Syrophenician woman requested healing for her daughter, but Jesus declined, saying, "It would not be proper to take the food from the children's table (the Jews) and give it to dogs (Gentiles.) She answered, "Yes, Lord; yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." Then Jesus said: "O woman, great is thy faith!" and He gave her the crumb of relief which was not hers by right; for He testified, "I am not sent save unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel." The time had not yet come for giving Gentiles a place in God's family as children of Abraham.
Who cannot see in this beautiful parable a teaching in full harmony with God's Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power as it has applied during this Gospel Age? The parable does not show how God's favor will return to the Jew in due time; other Scriptures, however, clearly teach this, as we have pointed out. May our eyes of understanding open to a true knowledge of God's Word, and to a true appreciation of his glorious character! Then we shall love him better, and serve Him, not from fear, but as dear children.
I offer free of charge a booklet written with a view to making these figurative statements clear. Whoever will address me--Pastor Russell, Brooklyn, N.Y.--requesting a copy of a pamphlet about Hell, will be promptly served free of charge. That pamphlet will clearly and concisely settle all your questions.
COMMUNION WITH OUR FATHER
OFT when alone in prayer I kneel
Before my Father's throne;
I cannot tell Him all I feel,
Nor make my wishes known.
With heart subdued, and head bowed low,
I lean upon His breast,
And while the tears unbidden flow,
My love for Him confess.
I have no boon to ask of Him,
Save that His will be done,
To make me holy, pure within--
An image of His Son.
But as He smiles and draws me near--
His Spirit from above
Floods all my soul with peace so dear,
And fills my heart with love.
Though from my gaze He hides His face,
My soul, from self apart,
Hath found its happy resting place
Close to His loving heart.
[OV366]
Value of Ideals to Church and World
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Shapen in iniquity, in sin did my mother conceive me."--Psalm 51:5. "BE FRUITFUL and multiply" was the Divine commission to our first parents before they sinned. The entrance of sin and its penalty, death, brought serious impairments, mental, moral and physical, to our race. It is no longer natural to us to do right, but contrariwise, as St. Paul declared, "We cannot do the things that we would." In other words we are constitutionally defective, because of mental disloyalty to God. Yet the mind can rise to loftier heights than it is able to lift the body and its functions. "To will is present with me, but how to perform I know not." --Romans 7:14-25.
Many are grasping after this great truth, and attempting human uplift through eugenics, etc., but nevertheless imperfectly appreciate what they teach, failing to see the matter from the Bible standpoint. The mind, the will, the body, should be entirely submitted to the will of God. Thus only can the highest good be possible. This was God's requirement of our first parents. In this they failed; and in consequence mental, moral and physical impairment have come to us as a race. "All have sinned and come short" of the glorious standard which God established.
Best Ideals for Sinners.
The Bible divides the world into two classes; the mass of sinners condemned by God and out of relationship with Him; and the few who have, by covenant with the Lord, come back into relationship with Him through the merit of Christ. We shall first address the world of sinners, with the suggestion that, while they cannot hope to lift themselves up to perfection and everlasting life, they can do much toward the uplift of themselves and their children by conforming to certain Scriptural ideals. The world already recognizes this in considerable measure, but not sufficiently.
All should know, and do appreciate to some extent, the value of a good example, good training in the family. The child who continually hears coarse, rude expressions in the home will surely grow up not much better than those surroundings, if not worse. But while encouraging high ideals in the home--cleanliness, gentleness, kindness--we call special attention to the duty of parents toward their children before birth. Few seem to realize that the general attitude of a mother's mind birthmarks her child either for good or for ill. With this fact recognized, surely every couple would feel their responsibility as creators of a family. If they realized that coarse, brutal, selfish words, acts and thoughts would be impressed upon their unborn child, surely they would strive to avoid these before their child's birth as well as after it. If they realized that noble words, conduct, thoughts and ideals during the period of gestation, would be imprinted upon their child, how greatly would they strive to have children that would be not only [OV367] beautiful in appearance, but noble in character.
Horsemen recognize this principle; and when a racing mare is in foal, her intelligent owner, desiring to breed a fine colt, will give the mother every attention. Her condition will be happifying and comfortable. She will be led to the race track, there to see other horses running, trotting, etc., that thus her colt may be birthmarked for speed. How much people will be for money, and how often they forget to do for their own families what they think to do for their horses! But the world is awakening. A New Dispensation is about to be ushered in, and its light has been streaming over the world during the past forty years, giving us increasing knowledge and higher ideals of the good, the true, the noble, the beautiful.
Our horticulturists have already caught the fever of the New Age, and are presenting to us fruits and flowers that are marvelous. Our newspapers are giving us beautiful photogravures. Art is becoming cheap. Every home should be well supplied, when the cost need be no more than the time to clip from the paper and to arrange tastefully upon the wall. Ideal homes are everywhere being arranged, and even the poorest to-day have much in life to cheer and refresh. Let us lift our ideals, and make the most of life, however cramped our financial condition. The will to do is what is needed, and where there is a will there is a way.
Christian Ideals the Best.
Before the Christian, our Lord sets the very highest ideals: "Be like unto your Father in Heaven"--not that Christians can be all that the Heavenly Father's character expresses, but that this is to be their ideal or aim in life. Only God can know when they are doing their best; and He assures them that He will judge them, not according to their success, but according to their endeavor to live up to their ideals, and the sacrifices they make in order closely to attain those ideals.
What we have said of the home and ideals of sinners--of those who have not come into relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ--is still more true of real Christians, begotten of the Holy Spirit and adopted into the family of God. Ideal homes, ideal children, ideal relationships every way, are pre-eminently their privilege and duty; and they have much advantage over others in respect to this matter. Have they not received the begetting of the Spirit? Have they not become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have they not been taught in the School of Christ? (Romans 8:9.) Have they not knowledge to understand that the Spirit of Christ manifests itself in meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, brotherly kindness, love! Have they not learned that any other spirit than this--such as anger, malice, hatred, envy and strife, works of the flesh and the Devil--is contrary to the Spirit of Christ? Have they not resolved to put away all these and to put on the fruits of the Spirit of Christ? They have adopted these ideals and are working along this line.
True, some of them by nature may be very deficient, very degraded; but because God is no respecter of persons, He accepts all who come to Him through Christ. Those naturally deficient, those naturally much fallen, may have the more difficulty approximating their ideals, but they will surely be making progress; and those who have known them before will take note of them, that they have been with Jesus and learned of Him. God will perceive the thoughts and intents of their hearts; and they will have His blessing in proportion as they are striving to be God-like.
Let Us Awake to the True Situation.
The children of Christians should be pre-eminently beautiful, both in feature and in character; for Christians have the highest ideals, and should, more than others, put these into practice. Moreover, they have Divine assistance, through the Scriptures and through God's providential direction in [OV368] their affairs, that they might know, appreciate and use the things freely given to them of God as His children.
But alas! Many are Christians only in name, having never entered into a covenant with the Lord. They have neither part nor lot in the things of God. Others, who have truly given up themselves to the Lord, have been sadly neglected as respects lessons in the School of Christ. The great religious institutions of the world are not teaching the highest ideals, but instead are separating the people from those highest ideals by misrepresentations of the Divine character and the Divine Plan.
Let us awake to the true situation, awake to our privileges as children of God, awake to the true teaching of the Bible. These direct not only that our conduct toward men shall be in harmony with the Golden Rule, but that we shall go beyond this and have a love which will delight in doing good unto all men, as we have opportunity, especially unto the Household of Faith. It will go further, and take hold upon the very thoughts and intents of the heart. The Christian is under direct obligation to the Lord to do His will; and that will, he is informed, takes notice not merely of his actions and words, but of his very thoughts as well.--Philippians 4:8.
Happy the child who has such parentage, and especially so if the parents have been guided by an appreciation of the fact that the mother's mind during the period of gestation will mark the child for life. Happy the child who has a mother thus fully committed to God, intent upon doing His will and appreciative of His high ideals! Happy the child who has a father similarly devoted to God and noble ideals, who will help his wife at this, the most critical time of her experience as a mother, not only by providing for her comfort of body and rest of mind, but by assisting her to noble sentiments of justice, mercy, love, kindness, and, by drawing her attention to things beautiful, lovely, happifying! Oh, what a beautiful character might not such a child have! What a blessing to be born with such a heritage, and then to be consecrated to God and His service!
"Forbidding to Marry."
St. Paul calls attention to the fact that some, getting out of harmony with the Divine arrangement, will forbid marriage. Such should remember that God originally said: "Be fruitful and multiply," but we may well urge upon them the importance of seeing that the children they bring into the world come into it with as much blessing as possible--as free from the curse of sin as possible.
Be it remembered, however, that St. Paul pointed out that the Church of Christ has a different mission in the world from others. Her mission is not the propagation of the human species, but co-operation with God in the work of the present time; namely, the development of the New Creation. The coming Age will be the time for Christ and the Church, as the Heavenly Bridegroom and the Heavenly Bride, to take over the world of mankind by resurrection, regeneration. Now, as the Apostle suggests, is the time in which the Church is to make her own calling and election sure to the Divine nature, that she may become "the Bride, the Lamb's Wife." It is her privilege, also, to carry the Message of this High Calling to those who now have ears to hear. Thus she becomes God's mouthpiece, or ambassador, in finding, calling, instructing and helping all who accept the Divine invitation, and enter into covenant relationship with God through Christ as New Creatures.
It is in view of this important work that the Apostle suggests that those of the Church who can do so should consider it a privilege to forego marriage, that they may live celibate lives as Jesus did, and as St. Paul himself is supposed to have done--not that celibacy of itself need be considered a necessity for the perfecting of the Divine character, but that its practice will give increased opportunity for [OV369] serving the King of Kings. Many zealous Christians feel, as St. Paul felt, that the time is short and their opportunities few for rendering service unto the Lord and His Cause. Hence if marriage would interfere in any measure with this, their highest privilege, they would gladly forego a measure of earthly happiness and privilege, to be more efficient servants of the Lord.
This same thought is expressed by Jesus, saying: "Some have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake." (Matthew 19:12); that is, have denied themselves their privileges and rights as human beings, in order to render the better service to the Lord. But such a matter is a sacrifice, a privilege, and not a command, not an obligation. Whoever chooses may sacrifice, and should not be criticized therefor. Whoever prefers not to sacrifice should not be criticized on that account. To his own master each servant stands or falls.
Business Ideals.
We must remember that the Bible has no communication whatever for those who are not Christians. The Christian business man may to some extent be copied by his neighbors. But his own responsibility is the matter in which he is interested most. A business man's ideal is the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you," applies to his buying, his selling, to his dealing with his clerks and with his customers. It includes his advertising, and the ideals which he sets before his clerks.
We believe that more and more the Golden Rule is coming to be appreciated by the public, and that those who follow it will more and more receive a blessing. We do not mean that it will make them richer than their neighbors, who may follow the other rule sometimes quoted: Do your neighbors as you believe he would do you; but do him first, before he can do you. But whether following the Golden Rule shall bring little success or much success, the business man who has given his heart to the Lord and become a son of God must follow the Golden Rule. He can do no less, though he is privileged to do as much more as he chooses in the way of benevolences.
A business man's ideals should have some bearing upon his manner of doing business, as well as the character of the stock he offers for sale. The Christian business man's store should be known as a place where trash and injurious things would not be found.
Social and Neighborly Ideals.
The true Christian is to remember that nothing less than the Golden Rule may be followed by him under any circumstances. He must see to it that his children, his chickens, his dogs, etc., do not disturb his neighbors in their proper rights. The same Golden Rule requires of him that he shall do a neighbor's part for any one in distress, even as he would have a neighbor do for him if he were in trouble. "Do good and lend, hoping for nothing again," is to be exemplified in the Christian, with the understanding that he is not to do lending that would impair his own credit, nor seriously interfere with his own obligations to his family. Moreover, proper lending would be merely in cases of necessity. He is not to be neighborly because he hopes the neighbor will return the compliment, but because from the Word of God he has received high ideals of a proper neighbor, and because he wishes to live up to the Divine requirement, doing good as he has opportunity, and especially unto the Household of Faith.
The Christian may not have time to waste in some of the social amenities common to our day. He is a representative and ambassador of the King of kings and Lord of lords. His time, his influence, his talents, are not his own. They are to be used according to his judgment of the Lord's will. He may not, therefore, seem to be as sociable as some might desire. He will have no time to kill in games or amusements. He has come to a realization that "Life is real, life is earnest;" and that while there is so much sin and [OV370] sorrow in the world, he may not fritter away his precious moments in idleness or in that which is merely pleasurable, but not really profitable. This will not mean that he shall not take any time to look after the interests of his family in a social way and to keep in touch with his social obligations as a neighbor. It would make him dignified, and first of all, loyal to God.
Our ideals are merely fantasies, floating clouds without rain, until we bring them to the point of determination --until we consecrate our lives to these ideals and resolve to live in harmony with them. Here the Christian has much advantage every way, for he not only has his ideals from the Lord, but the promise of Divine oversight, blessing, guidance and assistance in working out these ideals in his own heart and in his life.
DISAPPOINTMENT
"DISAPPOINTMENT--His appointment,"
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Tho' it may come in disguise,
For the end from the beginning
Open to His wisdom lies.
"Disappointment--His appointment,"
Whose? The Lord's, who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test;
For, like loving earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts, unquestioned,
All that from His wisdom flows.
"Disappointment--His appointment,"
"No good thing will He withhold,"
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold.
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.
"Disappointment--His appointment,"
Lord, I take it, then, as such.
Like the clay in hands of potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch.
All my life's plan is Thy moulding,
Not one single choice be mine;
Let me answer, unrepining--
Father, "Not my will, but Thine."
[OV371]
Is Christian Science Reasonable?
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
(This is the first of a series of two
articles on Christian Science. The second
will appear in our next issue.)
"Come, now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."--Isaiah 1:18. WHEN a number of people associate themselves, adopt a name, publish their doctrines to the world and invite members, their doctrines are properly subject to public criticism. They still preserve their individual rights, however. What a man believes or disbelieves is his own business, and not subject to public criticism. Doctrines only may be criticised; and these should be honestly treated, not misrepresented. This applies to every creed, every cult; and all honest people should welcome such investigation and truthful criticism. We assume that Christian Scientists, therefore, will appreciate what we now have to say as much as, or more than, others. We trust that we always have this attitude toward any criticism leveled against our public teachings. We are therefore following the Golden Rule laid down by the Lord, and acknowledged by all.
The growth of Christian Science has astonished the world. Its teachings seem to have appealed to a very intelligent, well-to-do class of people, of considerable mental independence, possessed of considerable "backbone." So far as we have conversed with them we find that physical healing seems to have been more or less associated with their conversion to their cult. Either themselves or their friends have been healed. Their realization of the cure brought them religious conviction instead of the doubts and wonderments of their previous experiences. The awakening to this conviction that there is a real power outside of man, a supernatural power, aroused a religious sentiment such as they had never known before. It seems to them that they have started a new life.
The reason for this is that nominal Christianity is merely a form of godliness, without power or conviction. This form of godliness has spread to such an extent that the whole world is styled Christendom--Christ's Kingdom. In countries like Great Britain, Germany, Russia and Scandinavia, approximately ninety-five per cent of the population are rated as Christians, even though some of these are in prison, some in insane asylums, and some too young to think at all or be anything. In Italy, everybody is rated a Christian--although amongst some of the Italians who come to our shores flourish works of the Devil, such as the Black Hand, the Mafia, etc.
Bewildered Christendom.
Additionally, a sincere class of Christian people have, during the last fifty years, been in great perplexity because of the stupendous nonsense intermingled with Truth which was handed down to us from the Dark [OV372] Ages. Under the increasing light, thinking people have not been able to swallow some of the monstrous statements of the creeds as readily as did their forefathers. The persecution of Baptists gave place to toleration--that they might baptize as they chose, even though their teaching that immersion is the door into the Church implied that all the unimmersed are outside the true Church, outside the pale of salvation, and hence prospectively subject to eternal torture. Presbyterians and Methodists, unable to down each other on the subject of Election or Free Grace, agreed to "live and let live."
The great churches which formerly persecuted all others as heretics, forbidding any to preach except by their ordinations, gradually found themselves compelled to desist from making their tenets too prominent. Thus people are more or less bewildered as to what are the differences between the various denominations; and many conclude that the only difference is in forms, ceremonies, ordinations, etc.
The doctrine that God had foreordained 999 out of every 1,000 to an eternity of torture in fire was gradually looked at as too horrible to believe. The alternative doctrine, that God did not foreordain the matter thus, but had not the wisdom or power to avoid such a catastrophe for His creatures, was equally repugnant. As a consequence, preachers began to tell that the destiny of the world was not literal fire, but gnawing of conscience, etc.--each manufacturing a Hell according to his own wisdom or ignorance and to suit his congregation.
Under such conditions Christian Science was born, and has grown to its present proportions. Three things especially favored it: (1) Its acceptance of the Bible. (2) Its rejection of everlasting torment, mental or physical. (3) Its teaching respecting Divine healing. Mrs. Eddy, the acknowledged head of Christian Science, had a keen mind and considerable wisdom in its exercise. She would hold to the Bible even though she needed to pervert its teachings. She would not make her teachings respecting the future life too pronounced or too antagonistic to other theories. She contented herself with vague, ambiguous statements re the future life. She laid principal stress on healing, and settled all doctrinal difficulties with the dictum that there is no evil, there is no sin, there is no death; that what have been called sin, death and evil are merely errors of the mind.
The very absurdity of some of these statements advertised them. People said: What does it mean--There is no death, no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, no evil of any kind? Absurd! Later they said, We will see how Christian Scientists explain death, sickness, pain, sin. Thus curiosity led them into the metaphysical labyrinth which Mrs. Eddy had skillfully constructed. Having no intelligent knowledge of the Bible, they were just in condition to fall an easy prey to "Mother Eddy's" errors. If some of her definitions were fanciful, far-fetched and unscriptural, they were no more so than the teachings to which people had been accustomed from childhood, and which substantially claim that the more unreasonable and illogical a matter is, the more faith is implied by the believing of it.
C.S. Readers and Practitioners.
Christian Scientists feel what might be termed spiritual pride in connection with their healing practices and with the public reading of the Scriptures and Mrs. Eddy's comments--as much spiritual pride, perhaps, as is sometimes felt in other churches by preachers, elders, deacons, vestrymen, deaconesses, etc. To be lifted from the ordinary walks of life to places of distinction in Christianity, especially in scientific Christianity, would surely appeal to the majority. Once elevated to positions as readers or practitioners or healing practitioners, it becomes their duty loyally to support and defend the system which they represent. And so, just as earnestly as with other [OV373] sects, the establishment and defense of Christian Science goes courageously onward.
Still another class is interested, financially--those in control of the Christian Science literature. It sells at good, stiff prices; and anybody questioning the merchandizing of the truth is given to understand that he is unappreciative; and with the majority of people the price regulates the value, anyway. Having, we believe, fairly stated the facts and claims of Christian Scientists, we now inquire whether or not their teachings are logical. We hold that they are not, and will endeavor to show in what respect this is true.
Is Christian Science Logical?
Striving for a truth, "Mother Eddy" declared that there is no pain, no sickness, no sorrow, etc. The truth she was feeling after, but did not fully grasp, is that sin, sickness, sorrow, death, are abnormal conditions. There could be none of these, except for the curse that came upon our race at the beginning, because of disloyalty to God. We agree with Mrs. Eddy to the extent that these conditions are not designed by God to be everlasting. He does not recognize them as proper for those in fellowship with Him.
Nothing gives any reason to suppose that there are prisons, insane asylums, hospitals, doctors or cemeteries in Heaven, where all is perfect and in fullest harmony with God. Messiah's great work of Redemption will obliterate these unsatisfactory conditions from the earth. Jesus Himself tells us that their abolition will be the result of His Kingdom work of a thousand years.--Revelation 20:6; 21:4; 22:3.
But is it wise for us to say in one breath that all these will pass away, and in the next breath that they are non-existent? Surely we all value consistency and logic! Otherwise, language would bring us only confusion, instead of intelligence. Let us then say that, with mankind in proper relationship with God there would be none of these things; that they exist now because man is out of relationship with God through sin; and that God's provision, according to the Bible, is that mankind shall be delivered from this bondage of sin and death into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.-- Romans 8:21.
In this view, too, we see that the perfect earth was represented in Eden, and that eventually Eden will be world wide. The perfect race was represented in Father Adam before he sinned; and through Christ, eventually the earth will be filled with perfect human beings, such as Adam was. Then whoever will not come into fullest accord with the Lord will die the Second Death. Theirs will be perishing like natural brute beasts, which St. Peter mentions--the punishing with everlasting destruction, mentioned by St. Paul. (2 Peter 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:9.) But nothing in the Bible implies an everlasting torture of any members of our race or even of Adam himself.
In the Bible presentation there is a special place for the Church of the Gospel Age, called out of the world before the Restitution Times. Her acceptance of the Call implies her attempt to live in fullest harmony with the Lord under present imperfect, unsatisfactory conditions--even to the extent of laying down life for the brethren, for the service of God and His Word. To this Church class, the Bible assures us, will come a still higher blessing than that of Restitution. The Church is to have spirit nature --yea, the highest form of spirit nature--the "Divine."--2 Peter 1:4.
Truth Biblical, Scientific, Sanctifying.
We commend Christian Scientists for their endeavor to hold fast to the Bible, but remind them that not the letter of the Bible merely will enlighten and sanctify, but its spirit, its real meaning. This is obtainable, not by confusing definitions, but by simplicity of mind in accepting the words for what they are and putting them together in logical order.
Let us give Mrs. Eddy credit for desiring [OV374] to be logical; but let us notice that, whatever she thought, her language was confusing when she said: "There is no death, no sickness, no pain." The most that can be conceded by the most generous logician would be that there should be no death, no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, if things were in right condition. But they are not in right condition, as the Bible declares, and as all can see. And they will not be so until the Savior, who redeemed the world by the sacrifice of Himself, shall assume His kingly office and right the wrongs which sin has brought us. As a result of His work, there will then be--at the close of the Millennial Age--no sin, no death, no sorrow, no pain.
But since Mrs. Eddy and Christian Science fail to recognize and state these facts clearly, it follows that however attractive some of the teachings may be to some people, they cannot be relied upon, because they are off the true foundation--recognizing neither the facts of sin and death, nor the necessity for a redemption from these conditions by the sacrifice of Jesus, nor appreciating the necessity for the coming Restitution.
Furthermore Christian Science does not clearly differentiate between the Church, which has been in process of calling and election for more than eighteen centuries, and the world, which still lies in the Wicked One, and which will not be dealt with until the Church shall be glorified, and with her Lord shall constitute the Kingdom of Righteousness.
Jesus prayed for His Church, "Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth." While Christian Scientists and people of other denominations, and some of the heathen as well, are, many of them, moral, exemplary, honorable, nevertheless few of them, surely, claim to be sanctified. Indeed, the sanctifying features of the Truth they ignore or do not see. We are not to think of church attendance or of rejection of profanity, liquor, etc., as sanctification. The putting away of the filth of the flesh is indeed commendable, but is only a primary step in the right direction.
God is now calling a sanctified class --a set-apart people--whom He is testing under the promise, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life." This does not signify faithfulness to a denomination or a cult, but faithfulness to the Lord, to the testimony of His Word, to the principles of righteousness, to self-surrender to God to walk in Jesus' footsteps.
We will not discuss at length the scientific element of Christian Science. To some it seems very unscientific-- inharmonious with the Truth. We believe the only way that anything scientific could be associated with it is by adding to it the thought that sorrow, sin and death are in the world only temporarily, by reason of transgression of Divine Law, and that they are to be rooted out and destroyed as noxious weeds by Messiah's Kingdom.
Christian Scientists tell us that they have received great benefit mentally and physically from following Mrs. Eddy's theory denying that there is any pain, etc. We quite agree that the will is a powerful factor in resisting disease--that if we brood over sorrows, difficulties, aches and pains, they are increased by the operation of our minds. We agree, as do all physicians, that the mind should be lifted as much as possible from our diseases, and placed upon happifying subjects. This is rational and logical; but it is irrational, illogical and, above all, untruthful, to say that we are without pain when we have pain. The lover of the truth can never consent to this. Honesty must be first with all right-minded people, and surely is pleasing to God. Let us then not go to the extreme of untruthfulness or to the other extreme of exaggerating our ills; but, Let every man think soberly.-- Romans 12:3.
A Very Pernicious Teaching.
There is one doctrine held by Christian Scientists--and for that matter by many of other denominations, who [OV375] state themselves less positively--that is very pernicious, very injurious, very untrue, very unscientific, very unscriptural. This is the teaching that God is omnipresent--present in everything and in every place. Nothing in the Bible so declares, and when we attempt to be wiser than what is written, we are surely making a very great mistake.
Whoever thinks of God as omnipresent necessarily thinks of Him as impersonal; and the more he thinks, the more vague his God becomes, until gradually he has no God, but merely (as some Christian Scientists, including Mrs. Eddy, express it) believes in a principle of good, and calls that principle God. Such wish to believe in a Supreme Creator, but by this erroneous reasoning they mislead their own intelligence into the denial of a personal God. Whoever believes in a God who is everywhere believes in one who is not a person.
The Bible teaches a personal God-- a great Spirit Being. The Bible gives Him a home, or locality, and does not teach that He is everywhere. It was Jesus who taught us to pray, "Our Father, which art in Heaven." Oh, how different this is from saying that God is in everything that has use or value-- in the soil, because it is useful for the development of fruits; in the chair, because it is useful to sit upon; and in the table because it is useful as a convenience! Such teachings are faith-destroying, and surely lead away from the sanctification of heart and life and from the faith which the Bible inculcates.
HIS WILL, NOT MINE, BE DONE
O THOU of little faith! why dost thou fear? Didst thou forget that Jesus is so near? And hast thou thought that thou must walk alone? Behold now at thy side the loved One! Aye, more than this, thou'rt held within His hand, And twas Himself that hath thy trial planned! There was a need be seen by Eye Divine, Although, perchance, not visible to thine. And, wherefore wouldst thou see? Thou canst not tell If what thy heart contends for would be well; Perhaps thy hope's fruition would be vain, Or prove a life-long discipline of pain! Hast thou not seen, in retrospective life, That will of God which caused thee bitterest strife Hath turned to sweetness--while the thing He gave To suit thy will grew darker than the grave? There's rest supreme for souls that choose His will; A blest security from every ill. The things God chooses for us never fail! They have their anchorage within the veil.
[OV376]
Is Christian Science Scriptural?
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
(This is the second and final article on Christian Science, written by the famous author of "Studies in the Scriptures." The other appeared in last month's issue.)
"There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain."-- Revelation 21:4. IN MY ARTICLE of last month having, I believe, fairly stated the facts and claims of Christian Science, and having pointed out the unreasonableness and inconsistency of some of its statements, I now proceed to inquire whether its teachings are Scriptural. This is the question of special interest to us. The others are merely incidental. I hold, and will endeavor to show, that Christian Science is in conflict with the Holy Scriptures.
The Bible distinctly avers that God created man perfect--in His own likeness, morally, intellectually. It declares that Adam's disobedience was sin, punishable, not with eternal torment, but with death.-- Romans 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Genesis 2:17; 3:17-19; 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4,20.
Christian Science denies these facts, declaring that there is no death and that whoever dies merely commits "mortal error." It is surely against Christian Science, but confirmatory of the Bible teaching that for more than six thousand years mankind have been dying! Even "Mother Eddy," who was expected not to commit "mortal error," finally succumbed to it. What answer can our Christian Science friends make to this? We know of none, except that they might claim that the unreasonableness of their position is no greater than the unreasonableness of any of the other sects and creeds. Logic never seems to be taken into consideration in religious matters; the more illogical a statement the more commendable the acceptance of it.
If all disease is error, if death is the greatest of errors, and if the escaping of "mortal error"--death-- brings the reward of everlasting life, how do our Christian Science friends expect to get everlasting life, when at the last moment of their trial they make failure? For those of them who are at all logical, this must be another very perplexing problem. The Bible declares that whoever fails in one point is guilty of all the Law. (James 2:10.) Surely he who commits "mortal error" has failed in attaining the desideratum of Christian Science more than in all the other failures of his life in combating all other things! If "mortal error" thus takes hold at the dying moment, what hope would there be for such a person as respects everlasting life, if only to overcomers will be granted that life and if none of them overcome, but all succumb to "mortal error?" The corollary of the argument would be hopeless death for all mankind. In this conclusion, the Bible agrees. "The wages of sin is death;" sin brings death, "mortal error."-- Ezekiel 18:4; Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23. [OV377] What the Scriptures Say.
The Bible logically and beautifully points out God's compassion for our race, and His provision in Christ for our recovery out of this death condition by a resurrection from the dead. The Bible logically shows that the Divine sentence of death (not torment) must be met either by humanity or by a Redeemer, and informs us that for this purpose Christ left His Heavenly glory, that He might redeem Adam and his race from sin and its death penalty. So the Apostle writes by inspiration: "As by a man (Adam) came death, by a man also (Jesus) comes the resurrection of the dead. For as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21,22.) What is this but a declaration that the sin leading to "mortal error" is atoned for by Divine favor, to the intent that all sinners may be rescued from "mortal error"--from death?
The Bible is so much more reasonable and beautiful that, we believe, Christian Scientists, seeing its teachings with clear vision, will gladly exchange an inferior for a superior. Why should they bind themselves too closely to "Mother Eddy," who, according to her own theory, failed in the highest degree in committing "mortal error"--and hopelessly? Would they not rather take the older and still better teaching of God's Word, and realize that Jesus' resurrection from the dead was the Divine recognition of His perfect sacrifice and a guarantee that His death had accomplished the designed purpose of providing a way for the removal of "mortal error" --death--from all?
Those who accept Jesus' death and resurrection as the satisfaction for sin provided by God, and who believe the Bible teaching that the actual resurrection is to occur after the Second Advent of Jesus, may by faith speak of themselves as already risen with Him. But those who deny that there is any death must of necessity deny that Jesus died, and hence would be, whether intentionally or otherwise, denying the Ransom-Price--the Redemption Price--given for the sins of the whole world.
Cannot our Christian Science friends accept the Redeemer and His work, and by faith look forward to the Restitution, which St. Peter declares will follow our Lord's Second Advent? (Acts 3:19-21.) It will be for all mankind, and will last a thousand years, dealing with "every man in his own order"--bringing them back from the tomb and from all their weaknesses, which are the blemishes of sin--back to the perfect image and likeness of God, as originally represented in Father Adam.
Healing the Sick Not a Sin.
Christian Science healers necessarily acknowledge that there is sickness when they speak of healing; for how could any one be healed who is not diseased? We have already conceded that sickness, sorrow and pain would not be proper for any who are God's people; and that the prevalence of these conditions attests the fact that God is dealing with the world as criminals under death sentence. The question arises, Is not the Church an exception to the world in this matter? We answer that those who believe in Jesus' redemptive work and who fully consecrate their lives, are counted as separate and distinct from the world. (John 17:16.) Nevertheless, to the surprise of some, it is not the Divine Plan that those received by God as sons should be released from sickness, imperfection or death.
Take the case of Jesus. "Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," the Son of God by a full outward attestation (Matthew 3:17; John 1:14), He was weary, He hungered, He agonized in the Garden, He died on the Cross. Nor were these errors; rather they were the very things for which He came into the world, as He Himself declared; and without Jesus' suffering as our Redeemer, Adam and his race could never be recovered, according to the Divine arrangement.
[OV378]
Church's Birth Due Now; World's Due
Later--During Millennium
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Ye which have followed Me, in the
regeneration when the Son of Man
shall sit in the Throne of His Glory
ye also shall sit upon Twelve
Thrones."--Matthew 19:28.
NONE are members of the Church of Christ except the regenerate. This fact is emphasized by our Lord Jesus, to the effect: "Ye must be born again," if ye would be My disciples. This teaching has practically disappeared from the pulpit, for the reason that the hearts of Christian people seem to be more tender than were those of their fathers; they cannot bear to think of the great mass of their relatives, friends and neighbors and of the heathen unregenerate as subjects for eternal torment at the hands of the Devil. Hence they ignore the Scriptural doctrine of regeneration, and endeavor to convince themselves that it cannot be necessary; for they know many, many people not regenerated, who are deserving of a far better fate.
The difficulty met with in considering this question is the same with which we so often meet on other questions; namely, an error firmly held so biases the mind as to make Bible truths seem impossible. Now, however, Bible students begin to see that there is a regeneration promised in the Bible for the world in the Millennium, quite separate and distinct from the regeneration now possible to the saintly church. When we get the Bible focus upon the condition of the dead, and see that they are unconscious --or, as the Bible says, sleeping, waiting for the Resurrection Morn, when the world in general will be granted opportunities of regeneration, we see that the regeneration of the present time, that of the Little Flock, will not hinder the masses from regeneration by and by. On the contrary, the regenerated Church of the present time will be associated with Messiah in the regeneration of the world.
This puts a new aspect upon the whole matter. Those now being regenerated are an elect, or select, class. Not only have they a special love for righteousness and a special hatred for iniquity, but additionally they exercise a special faith in God and His promises. By means of these promises and the trials and disciplines of life, these regenerates become especially qualified for God's service now and hereafter.
Regenerated to Different Natures.
Another item to be noticed is that the regenerating processes of the present time are with a view to bringing the Church class, the Elect of God, to a new nature. Their regeneration began when God imparted to them the Holy Spirit, following their full consecration to His service in the name and merit of the Redeemer. The regenerative [OV379] process continues during their lifetime, as they grow in grace, in knowledge and in love--in the character likeness of God's dear Son. This means of transforming and renewing work, referred to by St. Paul, saying: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the purifying of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."--Titus 3:5.
No well informed person will dispute the fact that the regenerated constitute a very small proportion of mankind --yea, that they constitute a very small proportion of the religious church membership. The Apostle refers to these, styling them New Creatures in Christ Jesus, and declares that to these "old things have passed away, and all things have become new"-- new hopes, new aims, new ambitions, new desires, new affections. Such have been "transformed by the renewing of their minds."--2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:2.
New Creatures in Christ Jesus.
Surely it is not an empty statement on the Apostle's part that all these regenerate ones are New Creatures in Christ Jesus. The Apostle, referring to this class, tells us that they have been begotten by the Holy Spirit through the Message of Truth. Again St. Peter says, God hath "given unto us (regenerates) exceeding great and precious promises; that by these we might become partakers of the Divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4.) There it is! --these by nature were humans; but God's grace in Christ, through this begetting, they become of a different nature --"partakers of the Divine nature." In comparison with the world, therefore, these New Creatures--a fresh creation, entirely aside from the human family to which they once belonged.
But the Scriptures everywhere remind us that the New Creation is merely an embryo and will not be perfected until the resurrection. They inform us also that some, by repudiating their covenant with the Lord and turning willfully to sin, may become subjects of the Second Death. They inform us that many begotten of the Spirit may never attain the full measure of their possibilities--may never become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, their Lord. Because of slackness, worldly mindedness, they may attain only to a lower spiritual degree or nature --like unto the angels and not like unto the Son of God, who is the express image of the Father's glorious Person.
We perceive, therefore, that the steps of consecration and spirit begetting are not trifling propositions, but serious ones; and that with this opportunity of so great an exaltation go also conditions, limitations, trials, testings of faith and loyalty. "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him"--"be glorified together."--2 Timothy 2:12; Romans 8:17.
"Sit on Twelve Thrones, Judging."
In our context the Redeemer assured His faithful Apostles that, after being tested, the worthy ones would be associated with Himself in His Heavenly Kingdom--His Millennial Kingdom. These they would sit on twelve thrones judging or ruling. No doubt some special glory and honor is provided in God's great Plan for the twelve faithful Apostles--St. Paul taking the place of Judas. Nevertheless the Lord afterward declared that all of His faithful followers would be granted a share with Him in His Millennial Kingdom and in His glory and power. Mark His words: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne"--I will give Him power over the nations" --the Gentiles.--Revelation 3:21; 2:26.
This is doubly interesting to us: first because it is the reward of those who are now regenerated and who prove faithful to the spirit-begetting which they now receive--to those who eventually shall be born of the Spirit in the First Resurrection. As every begetting in the flesh must have a birth, [OV380] else it will be valueless, so the begetting of the Spirit must reach the culmination of the New Birth in the Resurrection. Jesus describes this Resurrection, saying, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection: on such the Second Death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. --Revelation 20:6.
But this is not all. The time when the Church will be reigning with Christ in His Kingdom glory will be the time of the world's regeneration-- the Millennium. This is the lesson of our text, "Ye which have followed Me (in the narrow way of self-sacrifice in the present life), in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit upon the Throne of His glory (during His Millennial Reign), ye shall sit upon twelve thrones." How plain! How simple! How beautiful! How grand! Could any of the Lord's people who have experienced the purifying of their own hearts by the regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit have a selfish or an unkind thought toward the unregenerated world--so that they would object to the thought here presented! Would not all such, on the contrary, rejoice to know that the Heavenly Father has a Plan by which the non-elect of mankind may be regenerated in due time? We hold that this is true.
Selfishness and every desire to exclude others from blessings and favors which God has promised us signify so much of sin in control of the mind. Love not only thinketh no evil, but it hopeth all things, and is glad to find in God's Word various promises to the effect that all the families of the earth shall yet be blessed through the Spiritual Seed of Abraham--Christ and the Church.--Galatians 3:8; 16:29.
All Mankind Need Regeneration.
Some may see that the Church need regenerating now, but fail to see the need of the world. They see that the Church's regeneration is necessary because "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God"--we "must be born again." But there would be no Kingdom of God, there would be no Millennium, there would be no regeneration of the world, if God purposed only the salvation of the Church. On the contrary, however, everywhere in the Bible God tells of His compassion toward the world, while telling of His particular love for the true Church, dear as the apple of His eye.-- Zechariah 2:8.
Note that favorite text, "God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16.) The whole world was loved of God. The whole world has been provided for in the glorious sacrifice of Jesus, and the whole world is to have the benefit resulting from that sacrifice. Christ's death is not in vain, nor merely for the Church, the Elect few. Through these Elect the great mass of mankind, non-elect and unfit for the Kingdom, are to be blessed--blessed with an opportunity for regeneration as men--not to a new nature, as the Church, but to the nature once assigned humanity, in the image of God, lost through sin.
The world's regeneration, therefore, will be to perfect human nature, lost in Adam, redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ's human life. Moreover, God's provision of Times of Regeneration-- years of Regeneration--is ample--a thousand years. Satan shall no longer be the prince of this world. At the beginning of Messiah's Reign, we have the assurance that he will be bound, restrained, that he may deceive the nations no more--that he may put light for darkness and darkness for light no more.
The great Life-Giver will provide the opportunity for regeneration to all the thousands of millions of our race who died in Adam and who were redeemed to this opportunity for everlasting life through Messiah's death at Calvary. (1 Corinthians 15:21-23.) Ignorance and superstition, darkness and sin, will flee before the rising Sun [OV381] of Righteousness, which will flood the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God. Then all mankind, whosoever will, shall have the opportunity of coming to a knowledge of God and of the way of life, and of being begotten again by the Life-Giver.
The regenerated Elect of this Age will have nothing to do with giving the life to the world. That life must come from the Life-Giver, who has secured the right to be the world's Everlasting Father by the sacrifice of Himself. But as Christ will be the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) to the world for its regeneration, so the Church will be the Second Eve, to nourish, to care for, to guide, direct, instruct, all the willing and obedient, desirous of coming back into harmony with God during the Millennial Age.
At the conclusion of that blessed Epoch of a thousand years, when all wilful sinners shall have been destroyed in the Second Death, the Revelator's words will be fulfilled--every creature in Heaven and on earth shall be heard saying, Praise, glory, honor, dominion and might be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb, forever. There will be no discordant note. God's will shall then be done upon earth, even as it is now done in Heaven; and the reward of His favor--everlasting life, with no sickness, sorrow nor pain--will then be with humanity, even as it is now with the angels.
Mankind's New Trial for Life.
It should not be forgotten that Adam did not lose everlasting life. Although he had a perfect life and was free from all elements of death, nevertheless he was placed in Eden on probation to see whether by obedience to God he would develop a character in harmony with God, and so be accounted worthy of everlasting life. Consequently, when Adam and his posterity are redeemed from the curse of death, this salvation does not entitle them to life everlasting, but merely to a fresh trial as to worthiness of everlasting life.
This fresh trial will indeed be more favorable for Adam and his race in some respects than was Adam's original trial, because of the large increase of knowledge. Man has had an opportunity to learn the lesson of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. He will soon have an opportunity to learn the blessedness of righteousness and to know of the grace of God in Christ. This knowledge will be of great service to all who will use it during the Millennial Age, when for a thousand years the whole world of mankind will be on trial for everlasting life before the great White Judgment Throne.-- Revelation 20:11,12.
God wills that all men should be saved, not only from the Adamic death sentence, but also from the ignorance and blindness with which Satan has darkened their minds. (2 Corinthians 4:4.) He wills that all should be so saved from the train of evils which has followed Adam's sin and its penalty of death, in order that they may come to a knowledge of the Truth. This He does to the intent that having a clear knowledge of the Truth they may make the very best possible use of the new trial for life secured for them by the Redeemer's Ransom-sacrifice. It is for this very purpose that the Messianic Kingdom will be inaugurated, which will first bind Satan and then release mankind from their blindness, as it is written. (Isaiah 35:5.) For the same reason it is the Divine arrangement that the Kingdom work shall be done gradually and shall require a thousand years for its completion.
The Regeneration of Mankind.
Throughout the Millennial Age it will be the work of Christ Jesus, as the Second Adam, to regenerate mankind. The regenerating influences will begin with their awakening from the sleep of death, in harmony with the Master's declaration, "The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth."--John 5:28,29.
The coming forth from the tomb [OV382] will be merely the beginning of the work of regeneration. It will be only a preparatory work. The awakened sleepers will be in the same condition of mind as when they fell asleep in death--in a very similar condition to those who will be living on the earth at that time. But before they can be regenerated they must be brought to a knowledge of the Truth. Their eyes and ears of understanding must be opened. This the Scriptures assure us shall be accomplished. "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."-- Isaiah 35:6; 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14.
The good news of Divine Love and of the possibilities of return to the favor of God through the atoning work of Jesus having then been clearly demonstrated to all, each one will have the opportunity of deciding for himself whether or not he desires to return to human perfection and the blessed privileges of life everlasting. To do so he must be begotten again by the Life-Giver, who will beget again only those who are desirous of having the new life. All wilful rejectors of the opportunity will die the Second Death. But those who accept the Savior's proposition will come under the helpful and disciplinary experiences which will gradually lift them up to human perfection --mental, moral and physical-- to all that was lost for them in Adam's disobedience and that was regained for them by the Redeemer's obedience and the Divine arrangement of His Messianic Kingdom for the regeneration of the world.
"AND THERE WAS A GREAT CALM"
AS the green waves bear on their crest
The foam, and ever shoreward come,
So, moving surely to our rest,
Slowly we all like bits of foam
Come drifting home.
He whom we loved has reached the shore
In peace; and all the billows vast--
The stormy waves of life that bore
Him on--have ceased their strife at last.
The storm is past!
We thought, because the waves of life
Were high and rough, the end would be
Mid scenes of tumult and of strife,
As mighty billows of the sea
Break loud and free.
But there was calm instead! The waves
Of life were stilled, and up the strand
Slipped noiselessly, as ocean laves
In quietness the silver sand,
An ending grand!
How sweet to know his weary life
At last to rest and quiet wore!
Oh, may we all, through peace or strife,
Be gathered on that silver shore
For evermore!
[OV383]
Golden Age at Hand
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"And He that sat upon the Throne
said, Behold, I make all things new.'"
BIBLE chronology shows that in 1875 we entered upon a great Sabbath of one thousand years. Six great Days, each a thousand years long, were behind us, and the final one thousand years there began. This great Week of seven thousand years will witness, neither the end of God's dealings with humanity nor the destruction of the world, but the completion of the creation of our race. By that time the earth will be a world-wide Paradise; the human family, brought to perfection, will have filled the earth, according to the original Divine Program, and propagation will have ceased. Originally man was in God's likeness and "very good." The sex division was merely for the propagation of the race, and not designed to be permanent.--Genesis 1:28; Luke 20:35,36.
It was never more the Divine purpose that man should contend with sickness, sorrow, pain, weakness and death itself than that the angels should be thus afflicted. The same God that created the angels, and gave them happiness and perfection, created men and properly endowed him at the beginning. The present difference between the perfection of the angels and the decrepitude of humanity--mental, moral and physical--is explained by the Bible alone. It tells that Adam was originally perfect and pleasing to God, and that his rejection by God and his subjection to death and all its concomitants are the results of his disobedience in Eden.--Romans 5:12.
The Turning Point--Divine Mercy.
There was no turning point so far as the Divine Purpose was concerned. The Bible assures us that God purposed human redemption from sin and death from the very beginning. But the first manifestation of that Purpose was the turning-point so far as human observation discerned. That turning-point was the birth of Jesus, who was born into the world, not sinful and imperfect like Adam's race, but especially born "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners," that He might become the Redeemer of men and thus make possible their recovery from imperfect, dying conditions. His birth of the Virgin stands related, therefore, to the great Divine Plan respecting His death, which really began at Jordan, when He consecrated Himself to death, and was baptized by John, and which was completed when on Calvary He cried, "It is finished!"
The next step in the Divine Program was Jesus' resurrection. Put to death in flesh, He was quickened in spirit, still more glorious than before He was made flesh. (Philippians 2:9-11.) The next step in the program was the anointing of the most holy of His followers to be fellow-members of the same glorious company under His Headship. This took place at Pentecost, and the work there begun has continued for more than eighteen centuries. As our Lord there anointed the most holy of the Jews and continued to anoint all who would be members of the Body of Christ, so in due time He began to anoint the most holy amongst the Gentiles--those who would become members of the same Body, which is His Church.
The Divine Purpose is that the risen Christ, the Second Adam, shall have a Bride class, the second Eve--a Divinely foreordained number. These eighteen centuries have been used of the Lord for the selection, or election, of [OV384] this Church to be His joint-heirs in His Kingdom; and as soon as this elect number shall have been demonstrated, their loyalty proved, etc., this Age will end and the New Age be fully inaugurated. Many Bible students agree with me that we are very near the time when the Church will be completed, and by the glorious change of the First Resurrection be made like the Lord-- spirit beings, "partakers of the Divine nature." (1 John 3:2; 2 Peter 1:4.) This will usher in the next step of the Divine Program--the Messianic Kingdom, with Christ and His Church-Bride associated with Him in the power and great glory necessary for the ruling, judging and uplifting of all the families of the earth.
If the Divine Program has consumed so much time in getting ready for the blessing of the world, what a great blessing must be designed! This is fully attested by both the Old and New Testaments. They speak of the New Dispensation now dawning as Times of Restitution, Times of Refreshing. (Acts 3:19.) They tell us that the earth will yield her increase; and this we see already beginning, as abundantly testified. They tell us that the knowledge of the glory of God will fill the whole world, breaking the shackles of ignorance and superstition. This we see abundantly witnessed on every hand.
Earth's Coming Glory.
The next step in the Divine Program which is about to begin will require, the Bible says, a thousand years, and will accomplish all that God has declared. The earth will be brought to perfection. Even now we see evidences of this in the wonderful fruits and flowers of our day, far superior to those of the past in general, since Eden's bloom and beauty were lost.
The point I am emphasizing is that Millennial blessings are not coming to the world by a process of evolution, but as a result of God's lifting the veil from our eyes and permitting us to see what to do and how to do it. The same operation of Divine providence is manifested in all the great inventions of our day. These were not gradually evolved during the past six thousand years, but have practically sprung into existence before our eyes--very many of them during the past 40 years; all of them, I might say, within the one hundred and sixteen years from 1799, a period known in the Bible as the Day of God's preparation. (Nahum 2:3.) During this period God has been preparing the world for the Millennium.
Our great inventors acknowledge that their work is not so much the result of personal effort, but rather a kind of inspiration. Their eyes of understanding opened, and things kept secret since the foundation of the world stood plainly before them, and were readily put into practical form. It is the same respecting the progress in Bible study and in the understanding of the Divine Plan of the Ages. It came, not by plodding study, but rather as an illumination of the mind by the Holy Spirit; for God's due time had come when those of honest mind should know the Truth.
It is difficult for us to imagine that such wonderful conditions as have become common in our day--such wonderful knowledge of the Bible as is now possible to God's Elect, and such wonderful fruits, flowers, etc.--should be only the beginning of God's blessings. Yet it must be so; it must be that we are merely on the verge of still greater things--physical and mental blessings for all mankind.
Doctrines of Demons Interfere.
We now see clearly that the horrible doctrines of the Dark Ages so beclouded our mental vision and so stagnated thought as to handicap the world in respect to every matter of progress and intelligence. Our creeds of the Dark Ages deceived us into thinking of the Almighty as a cunning, powerful Being who had planned our injury before the foundation of the world, who purposed to torture eternally more than ninety-nine per cent of the billions He had created. Under these mental delusions, the Bible came back [OV385] to God's people after it had been explained by the creeds for twelve hundred years. When our fathers began to study the Bible afresh, their minds were so impregnated with what the Bible styles "doctrines of demons," that they were looking for devilish things and made them out of Scriptural statements which had no such significance.
Our Unscriptural Expectations.
Christians have long realized that God does not purpose to leave the world forever in a sin and death condition. But they have looked for Divine victory in the wrong direction, because they have accepted the theories of the Dark Ages formulated when the Bible was not in the hands of the people. The theory was that God wished the church to establish the Millennium by converting the world from sin to righteousness. An endeavor has been made to follow that theory. Inquisitions and persecutions were invoked to force the people into church membership. How successful it was is witnessed by conditions in Europe at the present time.
Great Britain claims 95 per cent Christians, Germany the same, Russia about the same, while Italy claims that all her people are Christians. In this fashion they have been attempting to convert the world--by calling people Christians who were not Christians at all, and by including their names on church records. By these methods they have counted up a total of 400 million Christians, as against a total of 1600 millions of earth's population. Thus the world is not half Christian, even of the nominal sort; and instead of the heathen coming rapidly to Christianity, we find that they doubled during the last century.
Let us glance at the character of those thus forcibly brought under the name Christian by making them Christians as infants. We perceive that many of these are in jails, penitentiaries and insane asylums; and while we believe that in every nation and denomination there are some true saints of God, members therefore of the true Church of God, nevertheless, taken as a whole, can we not see that what Jesus said of some in His day must be applicable in what to-day is styled Christendom--"Ye are of your father the Devil; for his works ye do?"
We ask ourselves, Are the people of Europe doing the works of God or of the devil? The Apostle tells us that "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His;" that the fruits of Christ's Spirit are meekness, gentleness, patience, brotherly kindness, love; that anger, malice, hatred, envy, strife, are works of the flesh and of the Devil. "By their fruits we shall know them," said the Master. Surely, we ought to know that some huge mistake has been made when the peoples of Europe have been styled Christendom --Christ's Kingdom--and why they are enrolled as Christians.
How sad was the mistake which occurred when the "doctrines of demons" were brought in! Now we see that the Bible tells a very different story. It tells that God's time for saving the world from sin and death will be during the thousand years of Messiah's Kingdom; and that then they shall have every good opportunity that Divine Wisdom, Love and Justice will arrange on their behalf.
The dead are not in Heaven nor in the Catholic Purgatory, nor in the still worse Protestant eternal torture. They are asleep, as the Bible declares. But for Jesus and His work they would be dead in the same sense that a brute is dead. Because Jesus died for sins, therefore there is to be a resurrection from the dead; and therefore the dead are spoken of as being asleep, unconscious, waiting for the Morning of Messiah's Coming and for the glorious blessings of resurrection promised.
The Seventh Trumpet--The Last.
With our minds filled with the fears of the Dark Ages, we once thought of the "trump of God" as though it were a trumpet of the Devil, as though it implied horrible disaster to the human [OV386] family. But now, the eyes of our understanding opened to discern more clearly the Bible teachings, we are amazed to find that the trumpet of God is symbolical, like the preceding six; that it stands related to Messiah's Kingdom and to the world's release from the bondage of Sin and Death. Thank God for the Seventh Trumpet, the last trump, the trump of Love!
In the past this was pictured as the Jubilee. Under the Jewish law arrangement, God provided that every fiftieth year should be a Jubilee year, in which all debts should be cancelled and all bondages terminated. This was not only a beneficial arrangement for the Jews, but was a type of the future. It pictured the full forgiveness of sin and the full release of humanity from all the consequences of Adam's disobedience.
At the opening of the year of Jubilee the fact was announced by the priests, who blew upon silver trumpets, proclaiming that the Jubilee had come, and that all might return to their former estate. The great Seventh Day, a thousand years long, the antitypical Jubilee Year, began in 1875, according to Scriptural chronology. It is the proper time for all the servants of God, members of the antitypical Priesthood, to blow the silver trumpet of Truth and to make known to the people the character of the bondage to Sin and Death, and to inform them that it is God's will that they go free from these.
Such proclamations have been going forth from Bible students the world over during the past forty years. The matter has been opposed by many. As among the Israelites there was a nominal priesthood who opposed the Message of Jesus and the Apostles, so there is to-day a nominal priesthood who oppose the Message of Truth, the Message that Messiah is about to take His great power and reign.
All Things to be Made New.
Meantime, humanity has been increasingly anxious concerning its bondage, and has restlessly been seeking liberty--sometimes wisely, sometimes unwisely. Some employers and teachers have realized the impending change, and have governed and taught accordingly. Others, realizing the change, have invoked still further the powers of ignorance and superstition, with a view to continuing the present order of things, which God has declared shall give place to the New Christ is now taking to Himself His great power and is about to begin His Reign; and in our text He tells us that by that Reign He will make all things new.
Happy would it be for all classes if they would recognize that the great Clock in the Divine Plan has tolled out a change of dispensation; that the New Order is due to come in and the Old to go out. But because selfishness has hardened their hearts, the world is not ready for the Restitution blessings, and hence God, foreknowing this, has foretold the Time of Trouble which even now is at our door.
According to the Divine Word the present great European war is but the prelude to Armageddon, as Armageddon will be the prelude to Messiah's Kingdom. According to the Bible the present war, without bringing special advantage to any nation, but bringing discontent to all, will prepare the world for the most wonderful revolution ever known, symbolically styled in the Bible "a great earthquake." (Revelation 16:18.) Following this revolution will come the symbolical "fire" of the Bible, not a literal fire that will literally burn the earth, but the fire of Anarchy, which will consume our present civilization; and except those days should be shortened, no flesh would survive. (Matthew 24:22.) But our Lord assured us that those days will be shortened--that the Elect will take the Kingdom and establish righteousness and peace on the firm foundation of Justice. Man's extremity will become God's opportunity, wisely provided before the foundation of the world.
[OV387]
Twenty Billion Slaves to be Freed
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"The creature also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God."--Romans 8:21. THIS text, one of the grandest promises for humanity, does not relate to true Christians, but to mankind in general. True Christians are already set free, so far as their hearts, their minds, are concerned. Saintly Christians are a rarity to-day as they have always been since the Master declared: "Fear not, little flock; it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."-- Luke 12:32.
Not until these shall be perfected by the glorious change of the Chief Resurrection will the time come for delivering the groaning creation from its bondage. In other words, the world's blessing tarries until the completion of the saintly company gathered out of every nation and denomination during the past nineteen centuries, and called in the Bible "The Church of the Firstborns," "The Very Elect," "The Lamb's Wife," "The Body of Christ," and so forth.
Jehovah is a God of order. All His good purposes will be fulfilled in a most orderly manner. Six great days of a thousand years each have already passed over us, according to the Scriptures, and have been periods of darkness under a reign of sin and death. During this time God has allowed our race to experiment with sin and to note its bitter results--to experiment also in endeavors to recover from sin and its penalty, death, with its concomitants of sickness and sorrow. The long schooling of six thousand years is not to be in vain. The lesson that "the wages of sin is death" is not to be lost. Mankind is not to be left to destruction, but is to be recovered. Earth's billions, lying as unconscious in death as the brute, are nevertheless subjects of Divine interest, sympathy and provision. In the Seventh Thousand-Year Day, earth's great Sabbath, assistance will come to our race.
Broad Foundation for Human
Salvation.
According to the Divine Program, Christ will then be the great King over all the earth, and the great antitypical Priest, to uplift all the willing and obedient. He will be the Antitype of Melchisedec, who was a priest upon his throne. If the Divine purpose had merely been that the Lord Jesus Christ should do this work alone, there would have been no need of His coming into the world nineteen centuries ago to die; for He could have accomplished the entire work at one time. Now, at the beginning of the seventh thousand years, He could have died for man's sins, thus redeeming all from the curse that came through Adam; and then, risen from the dead and glorified with the Father's power, He could immediately have begun His great work of setting free the prisoners of Sin and Death.
[OV388]
But the Heavenly Father had a better Plan. He had purposed the selecting of the saintly few amongst men, to be associated with our Lord Jesus in His Kingship and in His priestly office. God has laid a broad foundation for a great work for humanity in providing not only the necessary kings and priests for the Millennial Kingdom but also valuable experiences for mankind through the reign of Sin and Death, and through human endeavor to overcome these. By now all should be satisfied that life everlasting must come as a gift from God.
A Race of Slaves.
During Messiah's thousand year Reign the groaning creation, which from Adam until now numbers twenty billions, will be delivered from bondage into full liberty, proper to sons of God. Behold what terrible bondages are upon mankind! Look at their ignorance, their superstition, their fears, their weaknesses, mental, moral, physical and the sum of these disabilities --death.
This does not signify universal salvation, except in that the Bible promises that "as all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive, every man in his own order"--class. (1 Corinthians 15:22,23.) The giving to all mankind the full opportunities of the Millennial Kingdom will fulfill God's promise. Those who shall intelligently refuse God's gift of everlasting life, by refusing His reasonable requirements, will die the Second Death. But those who at the conclusion of the Millennial Age shall have profited by the Messiah's Kingdom will be received into God's family and will be granted all the liberties and privileges proper to the sons of God.--Revelation 21:4; 22:3.
Although we should understand what God has promised of Restitution to human perfection for the groaning creation in general, it is still more important that Christians recognize the share of liberty which has already come to them. (Galatians 5:1.) Do not misunderstand me to refer to the great mass, Catholic and Protestant, noted in the statistics of 400,000,000 Christians. Alas, no! That great mass is deceived. According to Bible standards, and their own confessions, they have neither lot nor part in the Church which is the Body of Christ.
This great mass is well represented in the nations of Europe warring for commercialism, the one to obtain, and the other to hold, the key of power and access to world wealth. Saints there undoubtedly are in all the warring nations; but they are so few that they have virtually no influence, but are forced by the others into the struggle. The mass of these nominal Christians neither know Christ personally, nor give evidence of having come into God's family through the begetting of the Holy Spirit. As truly as the heathen of other lands, they are "without God and having no hope." There is a hope for them, but they know not of it; they are bound hard and fast in ignorance, superstition, misunderstanding of God and fear of the future.
Responsibility of Clergy and Laity.
Where lies the responsibility for present conditions--that the millions of Europe are fighting like devils, each army deceived into thinking that it is the Lord's army, fighting for God and righteousness? We believe that the responsibility lies close to the door of the churches of all denominations, and especially close to the door of the religious teachers, who assume great responsibility in calling themselves the clergy and setting themselves above their fellows, whom they style the laity.
These ministers of the civilized world, more than a quarter of a million in number, represent a highly favored class of humanity. The majority of them have much above the average of time for study and thought. How are they using these wonderful opportunities and privileges, and the influence which goes with their positions and [OV389] which is accentuated by the superstition of the masses?
I freely acknowledge that they are not responsible to me; as it is written, "To his own master each servant stands or falls." It is quite proper, however, that we remember the Master's words, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked and slothful servant." (Luke 19:22.) What a fearful retribution apparently awaits these professed ministers of God and of Christ who, instead of using their great opportunities for emancipating the people from the slavery of ignorance, superstition and error are using them to promote mental bondage!
Moral Cowards Everywhere.
The clergy neglect their opportunities for educating the people to a proper conception of the rights of man. They have fostered the fallacy that the kingdoms of the world are kingdoms of God, and that serving the king is serving the Lord. They have not taught the people the broad patriotism that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," which He hath given to the children of men; and that national barriers of selfishness and national aggressiveness are contrary to the rights of man. The clergy of each country, supported by the governments, have in turn upheld these governments; and if they have not told the people that the voice of the emperor or the king is the voice of God, they have certainly not disabused them of that idea, which the clergy of past generations inculcated.
Now that the war has come, and the misdirected people are blindly fighting for their errors and misconceptions, what is the attitude of the clergy? Under the pay or the protection of the governments, are they not supporting the governments from which they receive their pay? Are they not intent upon encouraging the ambitions of these governments and stirring up the people to war? Do they not approve the legend on the belts of the German soldiers, "God with us?" Do they not follow the lead of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in England, in encouraging the thought that all who enlist are engaging in a holy war for God? The Archbishop is credited in the press with urging the boys and the girls of Great Britain to marry early and bring up large families, that there may be more such soldiers to battle for church and State.
Policy and hypocrisy are written all over the affairs of the world falsely called Christendom--Christ's Kingdom. These are not Christ's Kingdom, nor are these Christ's ministers, if we judge by the Savior's statement, "His servants ye are to whom ye render service"--whether God or Mammon.
The clergy of lands not directly involved in the war are praying and urging the people to pray to God to stop the war; but we hear no suggestion from any quarter, of proper preaching and teaching to show the people the brotherhood of the human family and the sin of murder, whether committed by commands of kings, emperors, or otherwise. Where is the courage? Where is the moral stamina? It is lacking. Why? Because true Christianity is lacking.
Christ's true followers are courageous. Jesus refers to them all as overcomers, not sycophants; as lovers of peace, who contend not with carnal weapons. His followers must, nevertheless, be true heroes, copies of their Master, not afraid to speak the truth and not afraid to die for their courage. What a power a quarter of a million professed ministers of Christ might be if they truly took their stand on his side, lifted up their voices, and even now confessed how seriously they have misled the people in respect to earthly things, as well as regards the things of the hereafter!
Hypocrisy the Greatest of Sins.
Judged by their utterances, the great mass of those professing to be ministers of Christ are hypocrites. In private conversation, if cross-examined, [OV390] they confess that they do not believe in the Bible, and declare that no educated person could believe it to be a Divine revelation. Asked whether they believe in a future life, they answer that they have some hopes of a future life, but that these are built, not upon the Bible declaration of a resurrection of the dead, but upon the platonic philosophy that nobody is dead. Asked whether they believe in eternal torment, they reply, Certainly not! Indirectly, however, they have given the inference that they believe it; and surely they have not done anything to take from the people that nightmare invented during the Dark Ages, when for twelve hundred years the few Bibles that were relegated to the cloister and the closet, and the world was taught by self-styled apostolic bishops, who claimed the same authority of inspiration as the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus named as His only mouthpieces.
There were murderers, thieves and drunkards in Jesus' day, as there are to-day; yet the Master denounced as still greater sinners the religious hypocrites of His time who made void God's Word, substituting for it human tradition--deceiving and misleading the people--"blind leaders of the blind." Were He to speak forth to-day His strongest condemnation would be expressed against the clergy, who seem intent upon keeping the people in darkness respecting the true teachings of the Bible--teaching them evolution and unbelief if they are educated, or delusions of the Dark Ages if they are uneducated. Policy seems to take the place of honesty. The Apostle speaks of such as having their consciences seared--toughened, hardened. Lying usage in deception, in trifling with the Word of God, in toying with human tradition and in pleasing kings and princes, has apparently seared many clerical consciences.
As a result, nearly all ministers will say: "We do not believe in the doctrine of eternal torture. We would not think of torturing anybody ourselves; we do not know any human being so depraved that he would wish to torture his fellow creature everlastingly. We do not believe that God would do so. We doubt whether any devil would long take pleasure in such sufferings." Asked why they support creeds which so teach, and why they give such inference to the public, some reply, "It is required of us by our denominations. We would much prefer to tell the truth about the Love of God and His arrangement for the blessing of the non-elect during the Times of Restitution. (Acts 3:19-21.) But we are bound hand and foot. Our support and our honor amongst men depend on our adherence to this doctrine. If we could see a way out of the difficulty, we would be glad to be liberated."
Others answer that they give their consciences no concern, that their denomination takes the responsibility for its creed and for its teachers. Others answer that they are Higher Critics and Evolutionists, who believe that they must not tell the people their heart-sentiments, but that they hope that soon public sentiment will outgrow the influence of the Bible, and that then they will be called upon to teach a Christless, and, if necessary, a Godless morality.
After the Example of Judas.
Such bartering of the honor of the Almighty for honor of men and an easy living is as difficult to understand as that of Judas, who sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. So seared are the consciences of these educated men that they seem not to realize that blasphemy is the most serious of sins; and that directly or indirectly giving the inference that the God of all grace, the Father of Mercies, is roasting 999 out of every 1,000 of humanity is the worst blasphemy that could be concocted. How much allowance God makes for these blasphemers I do not know, but I feel that theirs is a terrible position. Would that some word of mine might assist in awakening their consciences; and that even yet nobility and manhood, [OV391] not to say saintship, might gain the victory!
And does not the pew share this responsibility? Has it no meaning to intelligent men and women that they have subscribed to a creed that blasphemes God's holy name, totally misrepresents His character, and throws an utterly false light on the Bible? Is it sufficient that these should say, "We no longer believe these creeds?" Do not their names on the rolls, their presence at church services, and their contribution to the up-keep of these creeds and their clerical defenders constitute a responsibility in the sight of God and in the esteem of all honest men and women? How long shall intelligent people halt between creeds of hypocrisy and one of honesty? How long will they bow down before creed idols more horrible than any worshiped by the heathen?
While mankind is celebrating to-day the birth of this great nation which stands for liberty, freedom, emancipation from the thralldom of church and State, let us personally make fresh resolutions that we will stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free, and be His servants, loyal, faithful unto death, hoping to receive "the Crown of Life, which fadeth not away."
LORD, GIVE ME THIS!
LUKE 11:13.
O HEAVENLY Father, Thou hast told
Of a gift more precious than pearls and gold;
A gift that is free to every one,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son.
For His sake, give this to me.
O give it to me, for Jesus said
That a father giveth his children bread,
And how much more Thou wilt surely give
The gift by which the dead shall live!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
I cannot see, and I want the sight;
I am in the dark, and I want the light;
I want to pray, and I don't know how;
O give me Thy Holy Spirit now!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
Since Thou hast said it, I must believe
It is only "ask" and I shall receive:
Since Thou hast said it, it must be true,
And there's nothing else for me to do!
For Christ's sake, give this to me.
So I come and ask, because my need
Is very great and real indeed.
On the strength of Thy Word I come and say,
Oh, let Thy Word come true today!
For Christ's sake, give this to me!
[OV392]
Sowing to Self and Sin--Reaping
Corruption
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."--Galatians 6:7. A VERY important lesson centers in these words of the inspired St. Paul. In our lives and characters are certain things with which we have nothing to do. From our ancestors we have received something for which we are not responsible. For instance, we had nothing to do with Adam's sin and its effects. We have to do only with what we ourselves sow.
Those things which have come to us by heredity, not by our own volition-- conditions over which we had no control --are all arranged for in our great Creator's plan. In Christ, God has made provision for the covering of all the imperfections that have come to us through the fall, so that we are not responsible for anything but what we sow. God will attend to what Adam sowed. He has provided a just Sacrifice for the unjust sinner; for as by man (Adam) came sin and death, so also by the Man Christ Jesus will come deliverance from those imperfections which result from Father Adam.
This is applicable not only to the Church now, but will be applicable to the whole world during the Millennial Age. The world of mankind will not be held responsible for what their fathers sowed, though now all suffer for those things. "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." (Ezekiel 18:2; Jeremiah 31:29,30.) In this present life we shall suffer from these disabilities. But this is true only of this life. The seed of sinful sowing brings a certain harvest, the same as sowing wheat brings wheat.
Living in Basement of Brain.
What are the seeds mankind have been sowing for six thousand years? We see the world in general sowing to selfishness, to self-gratification. Nearly all have been thus sowing, trying to serve their tastes, their preferences for food, clothing, everything under the sun. Man tries to satisfy his desires, and most of the fallen man's desires are for sinful things; but from the Adamic fall he has received a selfish bent. Thus the selfish impulses are more active than are the higher powers of his mind.
In the top of the brain lie the nobler powers of the mind: such as the sense of right and wrong, reverence, benevolence--good qualities, which bring man's highest blessings. Whoever can live in the top of his brain, instead of down in the cellar, the base of the brain, will have the nobler life. There are organs that belong merely to the flesh. Some people live for food and drink only. Others do not care so much for these things, but have [OV393] other morbid cravings. If we had none of the quality of alimentiveness in our brain, we would not enjoy eating, which would then be a mere matter of form and might be neglected. But if we are in good health, we relish our daily meals. This should lead to thankfulness to the Lord, from whom all our blessings come.
If, however, the organ of alimentiveness is in control, is served particularly and continually, the person will live only to eat and drink. He will live down in the basement of his brain. He will not have the highest joys. Such a condition would be an over-balance of that part of the brain.
Man became unbalanced away back in Eden, and we have had six thousand years of development in that direction, so that by this time the heads of a good portion of mankind are largely empty as regards the nobler sentiments, or at best these organs are largely dormant. Men have been too much occupied with eating, planting and building, with running after the gratification of the pleasures of sense, living more like animals than like beings created in the image of God.
Gratification of legitimate cravings is proper to a certain degree with mankind. There is nothing wrong in a man's enjoying his food and other bodily comforts. But is the making of these the chief aim of life--the sitting or lolling around to kill time, and the doing of this, that and the other thing just as they happen to come along-- that shows the empty head. Some very good people, as the world goes, spend considerable time in dancing and card-playing. To me it seems that those who have time to burn, to kill, those who spend their time in thinking merely about things which are on the same level with the horse and the dog, are living on a very low, animal plane. They do just what a good breed of animal would do.
Man's Aspirations If Perfect.
God has given man a brain very different from all the lower animals. We have the quality of brain and the powers of mind to reason along abstract lines. We can study mathematics, dynamics, astronomy, geology, political economy. We can discern between right and wrong. We can know God's will and study His Word. Animals cannot do these things.
But the average man does not care to think about God or about anything beyond the interests of the present life. He does not wish to think about dying. He ought to think, There is a great God; He has a sympathy and love for me, and I would be glad to know what He has to say to me. It would be natural to a noble mind to ask what God has for us, and to reason that it must be something good, because God is good. God is wise, just and loving, and has a deep interest in His creatures.
If things were as they should be, man would be feeling after God. He would desire to know about the Divine Plan of the Ages--how sin came into the world; how God has sympathy, and sent His Son to be our Redeemer, to make satisfaction for sin; how in due time He will make satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. Man would be interested to learn how it is that some know all of this beforehand, in order that they may be associated with the Lord Jesus in blessing the world. Why do they not care to know these things? It is because Satan has blinded men's minds, and because they are so fallen that to a large degree they have lost the image of God, in which man was originally created. Moreover, false doctrines have come in, also from Satan and the other fallen angels.
Present Experiences a Lesson to
Angels.
The Apostle Paul says that "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not." (2 Corinthians 4:4.) They do not believe because their eyes are holden; for Satan does not wish them to see the light of the glorious goodness of God shining [OV394] in the face of Jesus Christ. If men could only get a glimpse of God's goodness in Christ, the entire world would be converted. Why, then, does not God reveal His glory to them? For the reason that He purposes to do so in the Millennial Kingdom. Through Christ He will then open the blind eyes, unstop the deaf ears, and cause all men to know the Lord.--Isaiah 35:5; Jeremiah 31:34.
For a wise purpose God has permitted Satan to take his course. But in due time the Almighty will take control--in the very near future. He told our first parents that they should die because of their sin. It was Satan who said that they should not die. If they chose to believe Satan, the responsibility was their own. God permitted them to take that course.
Why should God do this? Because He wished to teach a great lesson; first to the angels, then to men. The angels are learning every day. They desire to look into these things, as the Apostle Peter assures us. (1 Peter 1:10-12.) Throughout the six thousand years during which God has permitted evil on earth, the angels have been looking on. The introduction of evil was a great test to them at first. When they saw the power of Lucifer, Satan, and observed that God did not correct him at the beginning of his career of rebellion, some of them concluded that God could not stop him. So many of them decided to follow Lucifer.
Did God wish this? Yes; if their hearts were disloyal, He did not desire to have them associated in the Kingdom regulations. So He let them have the test. He let them take their own course. Now that they are over in Satan's ranks, they are finding that God has the power; but they have demonstrated that they have not been in harmony with Him. For a time the other angels were bewildered; nevertheless, they trusted God. They have now seen the wisdom of His course.
All the while God had the power, but simply did not exercise it. The holy angels see now how foolish it would have been for them to choose sin. They can see that doing right is better than doing wrong. All the holy angels perceive that they were wise to trust God, even though for awhile it looked as though He was powerless to stop Satan or to save the fallen race that Satan had led astray.
Man's Present Condition Temporary.
The world of mankind have been going down into death, but the world is not eternally lost. God has known all the time what would be the outcome; and all the time He has had a Plan for their recovery. They have been only asleep in death; for God, before He revealed His plan of Redemption, had it in mind for man. In fact, He had it in mind before the foundation of the world. The Lord Jesus was the very Essence of that Plan, the very Center. He was to be the great Ransom-sacrificer for all, and later the great King of Glory to lift mankind out of death. All this was known to the Father. Jesus was the Lamb slain (in Jehovah's Purpose) from before the world was.
It is a good thing to find out how great a God we have; to learn that He is not only all-wise, all-powerful and all-just, but--still more precious-- that the very essence of His character is Love. This great Plan which God is carrying out has a still further purpose in developing sympathy and other noble traits in mankind. He is letting the world go down to the tomb; but no one suffers very long.
Brevity of Life Now a Blessing.
This condition has lasted more than six thousand years, although no one person has suffered more than a small fraction of that time. Many have been taken away very suddenly; many have died in infancy; some have died of consumption or of fever; others have been killed with bullets: still others with poisonous gases. But it was only a brief experience. It is not like roasting in torture throughout all eternity. For a person to suffer for a Continued on page 449 [OV449] Continued from page 394 few days, to have a tooth-ache, a head-ache, a heart-ache, may do him good.
Man's experience may develop patience and give the sufferer sympathy for others. All our aches and pains should make us sympathetic. If you never had any pain, you could not imagine what was the matter with people when they talked about their aches and pains. But since we all have aches and pains, bruises and heart-aches, we know what they are, and can sympathize with others who have them. Then, besides, these experiences are only for a moment, so to speak--"light afflictions," in comparison to the blessings in store for humanity.
These things are giving the world a great lesson. Mankind are not bound for eternal torment. They are simply falling asleep in death for a time. It is better that they fall asleep than that they should stay awake long-- better under present conditions. If they are inclined to right, it is better that they fall asleep, for the reason that their experiences are not prolonged and are not so much of a conflict. It is better also in the case of those who do evil, who know how to make bombs and all kinds of deadly instruments for injuring and destroying their fellow creatures, or who rob the widow and the orphan. If such were not cut off in death, we do not know what wickedness they would learn to do in a thousand years. Some in their selfishness would get all the money in the world. It is a good thing that they are dying off. We are glad, however, that they are merely falling asleep and not dying like a beast, to live no more.
God has a future of glorious opportunity for all. We are glad that our God has so wonderful a Plan. There are some things that we do not yet fully understand, but we are sure that our great Creator knows what He is about. There is no need to worry about the final outcome. We see enough to convince us fully and to satisfy us; and we rest it there. If you are not trying to do right, not trying to please the Lord, then you have something about which to be concerned.
Experiences on Awakening from
Death.
All these present conditions will be so overruled as to have a beneficial effect upon the world. Mankind fell asleep in death with certain knowledge and experiences. Even those errors which God has permitted to come in will work out good. How could they ever work out good? In this way:
Imagine some of the poor people awakening in the Resurrection Day and taking up the same thought with which they fell asleep. They will wake up saying: Where am I? Where is the Devil? Where is the fire? and the torment? There is neither Devil nor fire around here, they will be told; those things that were told you when you were alive before were simply scare-crows which the Devil used to drive men away from God! They were the very things that made you hate God. But we have found that the Bible tells about the Love of God, and says nothing whatever about those dreadful things we used to be taught. They were doctrines of devils. Cheer up, brother; you are just entering upon the best time of your life.
Are you deceiving me? he will ask in bewilderment. Oh, no! will be the reply. Satan is bound for a thousand years that he may deceive the people no more. You are going to have a grand time, coming into harmony with God, learning to know Him, whom to know is life everlasting. We shall all get everlasting life if we do right. Shall I become an angel? he will ask. No; you are too late for that. You knew some saintly people when you were alive before, did you not? Oh, yes; my parents were devout Christians. They are in the Kingdom now, joint-heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, reigning with Him. During the Gospel Age, whoever would walk in Jesus' [OV450] footsteps might have a change of nature and a special resurrection to become spirit beings--like Christ.
What can I get? Restitution--restoration to what Adam was when created. We are told that all our infirmities will gradually disappear, until by the close of Christ's Reign we shall be absolutely perfect, if we keep in the right way. Then, if we remain in harmony with God, we shall receive everlasting life. Now is your opportunity. Be one of those who will live only for God. In the past you sowed to the flesh. You wasted your time. You used your whole body improperly. You have learned a lesson; put it to good use. Hereafter, try to live in harmony with God's will. This will be sowing properly; and by and bye you will have a good crop.
Thus those living when the Kingdom
is set up can enlighten others who
come up from the tomb; and these in
turn can assist others. The incorrigible
alone will suffer the Second Death
--destruction.
"We are living, we are dwelling,
In a grand and awful time,
In an Age on ages telling,
To be living is sublime.
Hark, the rumbling in the nations,
Iron crumbling with the clay:
Hark, what soundeth? 'Tis creation
Groaning for a better Day."
[OV395]
Bishop-Apostles Costly Mistake
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Have I not chosen you Twelve?"-- John 6:70. AS CHRISTIANS we have long lamented our differences and wondered at their number. As we have been getting rid of one after another of the doctrinal errors of the past, and see their foolishness, and learn that they are not supported by Bible testimony, we wonder how they originally got a foothold in Christian faith. But a glance backward is sufficient to explain the situation.
During the ministry of our Lord and the Apostles, the faith of the Church was kept pure; but as Jesus prophesied in the parable of the Wheat and Tares, all this changed as soon as the Apostles fell asleep. He says: "While men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares" amongst the wheat. The tares of error sown by Satan shortly after the death of the Apostles have yielded an abundant crop, and well nigh choked out the good seed of the Kingdom --Christ's saintly followers. The nominal wheat-field might almost be called a tare-field, so greatly do the tares predominate.
But in the Harvest, the end of this Age, the dawning of the New Age of Messiah's Kingdom, the Lord will favor such conditions as will effect a thorough separation between the "wheat" and the "tares." He will gather His wheat into the Garner. All imitation Christians will, by the fiery troubles of that Day, be reduced to the ranks of the world in general.
Judas' Place Improperly Filled.
Whilst the eleven Apostles were waiting as directed for the Pentecostal blessing, they, contrary to direction, busied themselves by appointing a successor to Judas. They chose two men, and the two, selected one by lot, and then supposed that they had made an Apostle. Without reproving them, God ignored their choice; thenceforth we hear no more of Matthias. In His own time God brought forth the successor of Judas, and we all recognize at once St. Paul, of whom it is written that he was "not one whit behind the chiefest of the Apostles," and that he had visions and revelations more than they all.
St. Paul's writings constitute the major portion of the New Testament, and are invaluable gifts of God to His people. There never were to be more than these twelve. Jesus declares that He chose the twelve. Again He declares that God gave them to Him and that He lost none of them save Judas, whose disloyalty had already been foretold.
When Jesus prayed for these He differentiated them from His other followers, saying, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for all those also who shall believe in Me through their word." Their words are His words. They have been His mouthpieces to the Church. Of these twelve, and of none others, He declares, "Whatsoever things ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven," and whatsoever things ye shall declare loosed [OV396] all shall know are loosed and not binding in the sight of Heaven. So carefully did the Lord intend to supervise these in their utterances that their words would be infallible; and He wished all His followers to know this.
Furthermore, after our Lord had ascended to glory, He sent a message to the Church through St. John the Revelator. In that message He pictured the twelve apostles as a crown of twelve stars, upon the head of the Woman, the Church. Again, in the symbolical picture of the New Jerusalem, which represents the Church in glory beyond the veil, He pictures the twelve apostles as the twelve foundation stones. There never were to be any more, nor any less. From this standpoint we see that we are not to expect an additional revelation of any kind. God's people are not to trust either in their own speculations and mental gymnastics, or in visions and dreams; for, as St. Paul declares, "If any man preach any other gospel than that which we have preached, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8,9.) So, too, he declares, "The Word of His grace is able to build you up," and to "make you wise unto salvation." Again he said, "The Word of God is sufficient, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished." (Acts 20:32; 2 Timothy 3:15-17.) We see, then, that the Church needed no more than the twelve Apostles, nor any further revelation of any kind than those given to her through this inspired Apostleship. But that there would be some who mistakenly would claim to be apostles, the Lord Jesus clearly indicated, declaring that there would be false apostles, "who say that they are apostles and are not."--Revelation 2:2.
The First Pseudo-Apostles.
When we speak of pseudo-apostles --false apostles--we should not be understood as charging intentional fraud. Rather, sympathetically, let us suppose that the early bishops, in accepting the title of apostles and claiming for themselves succession to the Apostolic office, were honestly deluded, as much as were the people who thus acknowledged them. Let us remember, further, that the matter grew gradually, just as titles and dignities grow at this day.
Let us remember that the early Christians were not generally educated --that remarkably few people in olden times were able to read. Indeed, general ability to read belongs only to our generation, to those living in this our wonderful day--the dawning of the New Era of Messiah's Kingdom. Let us remember, also, that at that time books were very scarce, because very expensive. The Jews did, indeed, endeavor to have a copy of the Holy Scriptures in every synagogue, there to be read once a week, in portions, from large and costly scrolls.
Christians, expelled from the synagogue, had no longer the opportunity of the Jews for studying the Old Testament Scriptures. And the New Testament, written in fragmentary manner, was costly also, and not brought together as a collection for a long time after the death of the Apostles. The sacred writings soon became relics, remembrancers of the dead Apostles and of Jesus, worshipped by all, but not studied. Their value for instruction was considered at an end, because the theory in the meantime had sprung up that the living bishops were the representatives of the Apostolic office and inspirations. The people, therefore, unable to read, asked not, What say the Apostles? but received their theological instructions from the bishops, who they believed to be the living Apostles.
When we reflect that very few ministers in one city, even of one denomination, are to-day fully agreed as respects Divine Truth, we must not be surprised that during the two centuries following the death of the Apostles, these supposed "successors" got into all kinds of false doctrines, each leading a company of believers and holding the pre-eminence of his own views, few thinking to measure their presentations by those of the twelve divinely appointed Apostles. [OV397] "Apostolic Councils" Next.
The doctrinal strife between the bishops grew. Gradually the people of God, about A.D. 250, began to be separated into two classes--the clergy and the laity. The bishops, instead of being chosen by the vote of the people, publicly claimed the divine right, as the superiors in the Church, to ordain for them their clerical teachers. The clergy, under the lead of the bishops as supposed successors to the Apostles, lorded it over God's heritage. Later, in the sixth century, the Bishop of Rome began to be considered superior to all other bishops, and finally was declared to be the chief father, or papa, or Pope.
About the Fourth Century creed-making began. The Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Apostle's Creed, all were formulated in the fourth century. It was discovered that more than a thousand bishops--pseudo apostles--were teaching very contrary doctrines on many subjects. The Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and was perplexed by the variety of teaching. He convened the "Apostolic Council" of Nice. But although he provided expense money for all bishops attending, only about one-third obeyed the command.
These bishops disputed and wrangled over differences for days and weeks and months. Finally they reached a conclusion satisfactory to the emperor. It was promulgated with governmental sanction and with the declaration that any persons or teachings to the contrary were to be expelled. Thus a small minority of men who mistakenly thought themselves inspired, under the leading of an emperor who had not even been baptized, set up a theological standard which since has served well to fetter religious thought in many, and to make others believe that there is nothing in religion but superstition.
Creed-making along these lines progressed for twelve hundred years, while the Bible was neglected. It was not even thought necessary, as a text book in theological seminaries. Luther, then a devout Catholic, had taught and preached for years without ever seeing a Bible. The explanation is that the bishops, esteemed to be living apostles in full authority, were thought to have more up-to-date knowledge than the original twelve. In so-called Apostolic councils, they formulated creeds which they declared were alone necessary to be believed. Can we wonder that in all those fifteen centuries the real nuggets of Truth which had been delivered by Jesus and the Apostles and the Prophets, became sadly incrusted with human tradition, superstition, misunderstanding, etc.?
Groping for the Light.
Our Catholic friends do not agree that a great Reformation movement started in the sixteenth century. None of us will claim that Luther and his friends were infallible, and that in one step they passed from the confusion of fifteen centuries into the full blaze of religious knowledge. All, however, Catholics and Protestants, can surely agree that some kind of creed impetus to righteousness came to the Protestant movement of the Sixteenth Century. We have proof of it all about us.
No longer are Protestants and Catholics warring with each other, burning each other at the stake, etc. Each may feel free to investigate for himself and to accept or reject such doctrines and creeds as he may please.
All true Christian people deplore the division of Christ's followers into numerous sects. Nevertheless we may surely feel a great sympathy for all of them when we remember that each separate sect represents an additional effort on the part of honest minds to grope out of darkness toward the light. All who are awake are conscious that some terrible nightmare of error rested upon Christendom for long, long centuries.
The Torch of Civilization.
Well has the Bible been called the Torch of Civilization and Progress. [OV398] The Bible, not men, was the great Reformer and leader into civilization. When the Bible was placed in the hands of the people, they began to see that God's message came from Jesus and the Apostles and the Prophets of old, and that clericism and sacerdotal functions were man-made. A desire to know what the Bible teaches became more and more prevalent. The first effort of the clerics was to tell the masses that the priesthood had the Bible and would read it in their hearing --but it was read in Latin, to those who could not understand Latin.
Gradually the desire sprang up for the Bible in the English language. Dr. Tyndale was amongst the first to recognize the need and to supply it to the British. Later on Luther, with assistants, supplied the Germans. But not many were able to read. A partisan spirit arose. Seeing that the Bible was popular, all acclaimed it as the Divine Revelation. But each party condemned the translation made by the other, when in reality there was no particular difference between them. It was all the bishops could do to keep the people from studying God's Word themselves and to make them satisfied with the presentations already given them by their teachers.
Therefore the Bishop of London bought up a lot of Tyndale's Testaments and burned them in public. But more were printed and the demand increased. People hungered for God's word, and felt suspicious of the creeds, as well they might. Then came the Catholic Bible in the English language, and later, our Common Version English Bible, and many others. Still the claim is made that Protestants could not read the Catholic Bible, and that Catholic could not read the Protestant Bible, when in reality the two are practically the same--good translations.
It would appear that there are many religious teachers of all denominations who outwardly extol the Bible for popularity's sake, but who in reality inwardly wish the people would never read it, for they realize that the Bible is the greatest foe in the world to ecclesiastical hypocrisies and superstitions.
Back to the Bible, Says Pope!
Pope Leo, with a clear vision beheld the drifting of our day away from all faith and religion. Viewing the attitude of the Protestant college, universities and theological seminaries, he realized that nearly all the educated young men of Protestant lands are being taught Higher Criticism, which is the modern name for infidelity. He perceived that Protestantism, which originally boasted of its fidelity to the Bible, and protested against the acceptance of the teachings of the bishops instead of the Divine Word, has cut loose from the Bible as an inspired authority and is drifting upon the rocks of Higher Criticism, rationalism, atheism.
The Pope then bethought himself of the Catholic colleges, and found the same Higher Criticism intruding itself there. He perceived that this general trend away from God has already crushed all religion in ninety-six per cent of the French, and in ninety per cent of the Germans. The awfulness of this situation greatly impressed the holy father. He realized that our increase of education and decrease in religious faith must speedily spell anarchy. At the risk of condemnation from both Catholics and Protestants as narrow-minded and bigoted, the Pope instituted heroic measures. He gave orders that all Roman Catholic ecclesiastics and teachers must be examined as to their faith, and must solemnly swear to it, and that all books along the lines of Higher Criticism should be banned.
Pius X took another bold, courageous step. Perceiving that the masses would no longer recognize the Bishops as Divine authority--as successors to the Apostles--he directed through the Papal bull that the Catholic masses no longer look to the successors of the Apostles for instruction, but to the Bible itself. He urged upon the Bishops that Catholics everywhere [OV399] be encouraged to read the Bible. This is a move in the right direction. If Catholics should get to reading the Bible (I care not whether they use the Catholic version or the Protestant version--I use both), Protestants may be shamed into real Bible study, instead of the sham make-believe so much practiced.
May we not, then, hope that all true Christians, Catholic and Protestant, of every shade, might through the honest study of the one great book of authority, come back to the "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism," and the one "Church of the Living God," whose names "are written in Heaven?" Toward this end let us labor. Let us all be students of the Bible, and let us be honest and loyal, not handling the Word of God deceitfully. So shall we have the blessing for which Jesus prayed: "Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth."
SOME GLAD, SWEET DAY
SOME day, some glad, sweet day
We shall be like our blessed Lord
And see Him as He is.
Soon we shall strain our
Weary eyes no more
To catch, beyond this earthly
House of fettering clay,
A gleam of heavenly glory
From His radiant face.
Some day, some fair, sweet day
His loving hand will wipe
Away our tears. His tender
Voice will thrill our souls
With rapture, when we
Hear Him say, "Well done,
Dear heart, well done,
My joy is thine; for thee
The victor's crown is won.
"Thou hast been faithful,
Thou hast borne the cross,
The thorns have pierced thy feet;
But now the Night is past--
The Day hath come--bright,
Glorious Day of endless joy and love.
The trial time hath proved thee true,
And thou art safe, beloved,
In thy Father's home."
O, glorious Day, for thee we long!
We will be faithful, will the
Burdens bear, sustained by grace Divine.
In meek submission to Thy holy will,
Dear Lord, by faith we clasp Thy hand
As side by side we tread the Narrow Way
And wait--for it will surely come--
Some day, some dear, sweet day,
O, tarry not too long!
[OV400]
Conditions of Acceptable, Effective
Prayer
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."-- John 15:7. A VERY remarkable promise is this text. It is limited to certain people under certain conditions. It does not say that anybody may ask what he will. The class that may so ask are those who abide in Christ. Before any one can abide in Christ, he must come into Christ. No one can be said to abide in Him who has not come into Him as a member of His body, the Church. More and more the Lord's people are learning that a solemn transaction takes place when one becomes a member of Christ. To say, "I have companied with Christian people for several years, and I go to church every Sunday," would not constitute one's being in Christ, nor would simply saying, "I joined this or that denomination when a child," or at any later age. None of these steps would necessarily bring one into Christ.
When we look over into Europe and see present conditions there, we have an illustration of what it is to be merely a church member. We see that in centuries past people got a wrong idea into their minds--that the Church was to convert the world, so as to keep all mankind from going to eternal torment. This error was first held by the Roman Catholic Church, and was largely retained by the Protestants, who later came out from the Catholic Church, and to whom much of her error adhered. It is very difficult to get entirely out of error all at once.
Let us consider the facts. St. Augustine, one of the Church Fathers, was the one who especially advanced the theory that whoever died without having been baptized in water would go to eternal torment. His ideas were generally accepted, and as a result infant baptism was practised. The Bishops had gotten the thought that they had the right to make doctrines and creeds for the Church. Another wrong idea that had crept into the Church was the doctrine that whoever died outside of membership in the Church organization would go to endless torture; but that church members would at death go to Purgatory for a longer or shorter time for purgation --a condition far better than that of a Hell of endless woe. As surely as any one was baptized into the Church and buried in consecrated ground, so surely would he escape Hell and be safe in Purgatory.
Wrong Conceptions are Injurious.
This being the general thought, strenuous efforts were made by all church members to get all of their families and friends into the Church; for they did not care to have their loved ones go to eternal torment. Under the influence of this great error nearly everybody was drawn into the church organization, just as we see it over in Europe to-day.
[OV401]
All wish to be right. Nobody desires to be wrong. But in the increasing light of our day we perceive that our forefathers had become sadly confused respecting the true teachings of the Bible. However, we do not blame them; for the Scriptures place the responsibility for the confusion upon the Devil, who introduced "doctrines of demons" during the Dark Ages.-- 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Timothy 4:1; Matthew 13:37-41.
We all see what these warring nations that are supposed to be 95 per cent Christian are doing. Each side is jealous of the other. And yet both sides claim to be almost all Christian. The Italians, however, claim to be 100 per cent Christian. Everybody in Italy is a Christian. But judging from the conduct of some of the Italians whom we see here in America, who would know that they are all Christians!
This wrong conception, this telling people that they are Christians when they are not Christians, this telling them that they are in the Church of Christ, when they are not, surely leads to hypocrisy. The churches that have promulgated these wrong theories do not like to tell the people the truth, that they are not in the Church of Christ, that no one can get into the true Church except in the way that our Lord Jesus Himself directed. Indeed, they are all confused. We remember that the Apostle Paul says, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." (Romans 8:9.) Our Lord Jesus declares, "By their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20.) Look at the fruits in Great Britain, in Germany, in France, in Italy, in Austria! Do we see the fruits of the Spirit of Christ there?
Christ's Spirit Versus Satan's Spirit.
What are the fruits of the Spirit of Christ? Hear St. Paul: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22,23.) Hear also St. Peter: "Giving all diligence, add to your faith fortitude, and to fortitude knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." (2 Peter 1:5-8.) We see very little of these fruits in Europe to-day--only in a few of God's true saints.
The Apostle Paul also tells us the characteristics of the opposite spirit. He says, "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these:...hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, envy, murder," etc. He did not add bomb-throwing, asphyxiation by poisonous gases and other modern devices for killing and mangling our fellow-men; but all this is included with murder and other devilishness. (Galatians 5:19-21.) No savages ever fought more viciously than do these people who are deceived into thinking that they are Christians. They are not Christians at all. If ever we have had that idea, the sooner we get it out of our heads the better.
The Body of Christ a Company.
Our text presupposes that those addressed have come into Christ. The appropriate question is, How may we be sure that we have come into Christ? One might have much knowledge of Present Truth and yet not be a member of the Body of Christ. This Body of Christ is composed of saints, those who are really following Jesus in the narrow way. It is a company, a body, in the same sense that Congress is a body. There are many members in the Body of Congress, all of whom are under a head. So with the Church. The Body of Christ, the Church, is composed of many members, over whom God has appointed a Head.
The head of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22,23.) He came first; and since then His members have been gradually united to Him throughout this Age. The Body of Christ is now almost completed. The Heavenly Father has done the calling and the electing [OV402] of this class. But each individual who is called must make his own calling and election sure. The word Christ means Anointed. Long before the foundation of the world God had purposed The Christ--Jesus the Head and the Church the Body. The Apostle tells us that even our Lord Jesus took not this honor unto himself, but that He was called of God.-- Hebrews 5:4-6.
King David was called of God to an earthly kingship. He was a type of Christ. There was also an earthly priest, Aaron, anointed of God. He was a type of Christ as a sacrificing priest. God has anointed Christ to a still higher Kingship and a still higher priesthood. In His glorified and exalted condition He is "a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek." This Melchizedek was a grand character who lived in Abraham's day. He was king and priest at the same time. Long, long ago, God appointed Jesus to be the Head of the Priesthood that was typified by Melchizedek--a priest upon His Throne.--Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:11-17.
When Jesus presented Himself in consecration to God at Jordan, and was there begotten of the Holy Spirit, it was for Him to make His calling and election sure to the Headship of that Priesthood. He said, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God!" He gave His life to the doing of the Father's will. He finished his course grandly, faithfully. The Apostle, after telling us of our Lord's faithfulness even unto the death of the cross, says, "Wherefore, God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is above every name." (Philippians 2:8-11.) Our Lord is now the great Prophet, Priest and King after the Order of Melchizedek.
Rigid Conditions of Membership.
According to the Master's own statement, it is necessary that He be found faithful; otherwise He would have forfeited His life. Moreover, He was to be the Head of the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Of the Christ Body, the Apostle says that God, who foreknew Jesus, foreknew the Church also. He who foreknew Jesus as His Anointed, foreknew that there would be a body of a limited number of members anointed in Him. That number is given in Revelation as 144,000. This we believe to be a literal number.
Each one of this class has been drawn of the Father through the Truth. God has called them in the sense that He has sent forth His message speaking peace through Jesus Christ. If we have heard this message and have responded to it, this constitutes our call. Nobody has been forced. As that message of Truth has come, some have been greatly attracted, others have been slightly attracted, and others have not been attracted at all. For 1900 years God has been passing the Magnet of Truth up and down the earth, to find that particular class which has been drawn and held by the Truth. Just as soon as that work is completed, another work will be inaugurated.
The Lord permits the storms of life to blow upon this class which now responds to God's message. If these experiences blow any individual of this class off from the magnet, he is not of the kind for whom God is looking. He is looking for those who will stick to the truth Despite any pressure that may be brought against them. He permits trials and difficulties for the developing and proving of those who have responded to the call. These testings will blow off all who do not love the Lord and His service above all things else. He purposes to separate those who are of this true character from all others. He seeks those who are loyal of heart, and only those.
God Himself is the one who has the attraction. It is not that we first loved Him, but that He first loved us. (1 John 4:19.) It is the love of God, the love of Christ, that binds us to this magnet. God's wonderful wisdom, love, mercy and power have indeed been a magnet to our souls. The more we know Him, the more we are attracted to Him. There is something [OV403] about the divine character that is so wonderful that nothing else can compare with it. We are glad to leave all things else for His sake.
New Creatures in Christ.
We hear God's message, speaking peace through Christ, telling us that we may have forgiveness of sins, telling us that God is now selecting a special class of people from the world for the purpose of blessing all the families of the earth. This is the message that reaches our hearts. Then we take the Apostle's advice, and present our body a living sacrifice, our reasonable service. (Romans 12:1.) No one has come into the family of God who has not done this. No one has become a member of the Church of Christ until he has taken this step.
Our Lord Jesus thus presented Himself to God. He said, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." In one respect, however, there was a difference in His case. He was holy, perfect; therefore He needed no advocate with the Father. But the members of His body need the imputation of His merit to cover the blemishes which they have by nature. His merit is like a covering robe. So we have an advocate with the Father, and it is His advocacy which makes us acceptable to God. Thus we become united to Christ as joint sacrificers with Himself.
As we are received, God gives us the begetting of the Holy Spirit. This constitutes us New Creatures. Just as an earthly begetting starts an earthly being, so this spirit begetting starts us as spirit beings. Thenceforth, although the flesh is of the human nature --a child of Adam--the new creature is the germ of a spirit being, begotten in the fleshly body. This new nature is to grow and develop until finally it is brought to the birth, in the First Resurrection.
God's Will Their Delight.
It is not that our flesh is different or that our brains are different from what they were before; but that with this new mind and this new will our purposes and our aspirations are entirely different. We are to be members of the body of Christ, and are to follow the will of our Head in every particular. And so during all the days of our life thenceforth, we should be thinking, "What is the Lord's will concerning me?"
Those who become New Creatures in Christ are no longer to follow their own wills. Whether they eat or drink, or whatsoever they do, they are to do all to the glory of God. The New Creature is to be guided by the will of the Lord and not by his own inclinations. But he is not to remain a babe. A babe cannot understand at first what its parents are saying to it; but a healthy babe will grow and learn very quickly. If you watch a babe, you will observe that it looks at its parents to see whether it may or may not do a certain thing. So the child of God should always be looking to see what our Father wishes him to do. Thus we become dear children, as the Apostle says; children whom God especially loves.
Now, then, we have before our minds the class of whom our Lord speaks in our text. Those who abide in Him are those who have been begotten of the Spirit, and who are walking in the narrow way. These constitute the Church of the living God, Jesus being their Head, their Forerunner and their redeemer.
Conditions of Abiding in Christ.
"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you," is the Master's promise to His faithful followers. We abide in Him by continuing as we began. The Apostle says, "I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice." This applies to us not only when we began our Christian course, but every day until the end. We have suggested that every morning we make a fresh presentation of ourselves to the Lord, not as making a new sacrifice, but as confirming [OV404] the one already made, saying in effect, "My little offering is still here; and I am hoping that it may be used of Thee to-day in some manner, that I may have some opportunity of laying down my life for the brethren and for the truth, that I may glorify Thee."
This is the way to abide in Him-- by keeping our contract. Daily we are to grow in knowledge, that we may continually have better opportunity to make something out of the day. Each day, perhaps, there are fresh privileges of sacrifice.
If we would have the Master's words abiding in us, we must study the Bible. This is the only way to know what God has said to us. The Lord calls the Bible a Storehouse. The Master represents Himself as the great chef and servant of God's household, who "brings forth things new and old." God provides for His own more and more information on what relates to His purposes, the fulfillment of prophecies, etc. As time goes by, we are getting a better understanding of the Bible, since the day when we said from the heart, "Thy will, not mine, be done."
Dear reader, let us first make sure that we are in Christ. Then let us abide in Him; let us never even think of getting out of relationship to Him. Study the Word, to know what He has promised and what He has not promised. Use all the privileges which God has granted to His saints. Whoever faithfully does this may ask what he will, and rest assured that he will receive it. But those who are thus abiding in Him will ask chiefly for spiritual blessings. They will ask continually for the Holy Spirit; for the Word declares that the Father is pleased to have His children ask for this gift. (Luke 11:13.) This holy influence will enable us to develop the fruits of the Holy Spirit--meekness, gentleness, patience, brotherly kindness, love. Thus let us daily grow in His love and grace.
THE DAY IS AT HAND
POOR, fainting spirit, still hold on thy way--
The dawn is near!
True, thou art weary; but yon brighter ray
Becomes more clear.
Bear up a little longer; wait for rest;
Yield not to slumber, though with toil oppressed.
The night of life is mournful, but, look on--
The dawn is near!
Soon will earth's shadowy scenes and forms be gone;
Yield not to fear!
The mountain's summit will, ere long, be gained,
And the bright world of joy and peace attained.
"Joyful through hope," thy motto still must be--
The dawn is near!
What glories will that dawn unfold to thee!
Be of good cheer!
Gird up thy loins; bind sandals on thy feet;
The way is dark and long; the end is sweet.
[OV405]
God's Justice and Love Perfectly
Poised
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York, Washington and
Cleveland Temples and the
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"Mercy rejoiceth against judgment."
--James 2:13.
LOVE has gained a victory over Justice, according to our text. Mercy is an outward expression of Love. Let us reason as to the way in which Divine Mercy, or Love, gains the victory over Divine Justice. In so doing, I believe that we shall be learning something as to our proper attitude; for we should copy God's character. We should study His methods, His ways, that we may have Heavenly wisdom. When, therefore, we see how God's Love gains the victory over His Justice, we shall see how it should be with us, in order that we may become like Him.
In considering Divine Love and Divine Justice, we are to remember that God is perfect in all His attributes. Both His Justice and His Love are perfect. But inasmuch as these are inherent, invisible qualities of the Divine Nature, we could not study them unless they were manifested. Thus far they have been manifested only to a faithful few. It is the manifestation of these qualities that especially interests us. Let us note how these attributes manifest themselves, that we may thus learn valuable lessons.
Justice the Foundation of God's Throne.
Undoubtedly there is no lesson that the people of God need to learn more than this particular one of the relationship of justice to love, in order to know how to exercise these qualities as God exercises them, and yet with some variations; for He has some rights which we do not possess. We see that God's Love operated in the very beginning, when He created His Son to be His Logos. His Love was afterwards seen in His creation of angels and men, in His own image. Then we see that the fall of our race brought into operation Divine Justice; for it was Justice which decreed that man, because of his disobedience, should not live.
"Dying, thou shalt die," was the fiat of Divine Justice (Genesis 2:17.) When Justice decreed that death must result from transgression, Divine Love agreed the sentence was altogether proper, not only because it is right for God to be just and in harmony with His own Law, but also because it would not be good for men to live everlastingly in a fallen condition.
If God had permitted men to live on in imperfection, we can scarcely imagine the tremendous power he would have had by this time. As it is, we see that some of our race in three score and ten years are able to cultivate such qualities of mind and character as to give them an ascendency over their fellows; and were they allowed to live on indefinitely in sin, they would undoubtedly bring all others into captivity to themselves. Except man should exercise the attributes [OV406] of his character in harmony with the Divine character, he should not be permitted to live, because of the great injury which he would do to others. Thus, in the Divine arrangement, we see Love agreeing with Justice that sinful man should die.
Why God Permitted Sin.
Again, when our race came under the death sentence, God might have cut us off more quickly than He did had He not had in mind the very Plan of which we are now leading--the Divine Plan of the Ages. (Ephesians 3:11, Diaglott.) Man was to learn certain lessons during the present life in order that he might profit by them in the future life. We see, then, that God has arranged a very reasonable and loving way in dealing with the sinner race. In His wonderful Purpose He planned to redeem man from this death condition, and to restore the race in due time.
All the experiences of the present life will have a bearing upon the members of the fallen race during the period of their restoration, in the incoming Age. God planned that mankind should have experiences of pain and death, thus to learn the needful lessons. For six thousand years the world has been getting its education along the lines of sin--lessons as to what a terrible thing sin is, how hard it is to control, how ruinous are its effects, how hardening of the heart and that final death will inevitably result from its continued practice. Thus twenty billions of our race have had a great schooling-time during the past six thousand years.
Love Plans Man's Redemption.
As we study the matter, we can see great wisdom in God's course. Love was not indifferent, though for a time God could not show man His interest. Love had beforehand arranged a Plan whereby redemption would come, whereby Love would triumph over Justice. In God's due time a purchase price for man would be given. Then, after Justice should reign for six thousand years, during which the world would learn its needed lessons with respect to the heinousness of sin in all its manifold forms, Redeeming Love should become Restoring Love, calling mankind forth from the tomb, during the thousand years' Reign of the One who purchased them.
So ultimately, when death and hell (the grave) shall have delivered up all that are in them, and when the curse of death shall be no more, Love will have triumphed over Justice. Thus we read, "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?" "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"-- 1 Corinthians 15:55,57.
This is one of the most wonderful things that we see in the Bible--the more wonderful as we understand it the more. God always maintains His Justice, and He always maintains His Love; and we are blessed by both. Justice, having triumphed over the world for six thousand years, has brought our race down to Sheol, Hades--the tomb. Love, in the meantime, began to operate, though in harmony with Justice; and it has given the great sacrifice of Jesus, and has arranged that at the time of the Second Advent of Christ, and through His Reign of a thousand years, He shall awaken all humanity from the sleep of death.
How One Could Purchase a Race.
We can thus see in the Bible what a great equalization, or balance, God has arranged. Since twenty thousand millions of souls have sinned, it would, in any other way than God's way, have required twenty thousand million redeemers. But when we see how God is operating, we wonder at His arrangement. He provided that only one man should be condemned to death, and that through this one man condemnation should come upon all men while still in his loins. Thus one man could pay the penalty for all. "For since by man (Adam) came death, by man (Jesus) comes the resurrection of [OV407] the dead." (1 Corinthians 15:21.) One man was a sinner; one Man was the Redeemer.
Beautiful! We never heard of anything like this except in God's Plan. Think of a great Plan, covering six thousand years, in which the salvation of twenty billions of human creatures is involved, and yet all so easily and perfectly poised! Justice will never be cheated out of its dues; yet Love gains the victory and provides the way out of the difficulty, and does this at the expense of the One through whom the whole Plan is consummated --our blessed Lord Jesus.
The penalty resting upon mankind was met by the sacrifice of Jesus' life. But was not that unjust? Oh, no. The Bible assures us that God stated the proposition beforehand to the Son, and that the Son was in full agreement with it--not the Man Jesus, but the Logos, the Word, the Messenger-- Michael, the Godlike One. The proposition was made to Him that by the purchase of the whole race of man through His sacrifice He might obtain the honor and glory of Messiah--the opportunity of delivering and blessing the thousands of millions of humanity who had been condemned to death in Adam. And then, what more? Oh, much more!--that He should be supremely exalted, even to the Divine Nature, for all eternity--far above angels, principalities, powers and every name that is named. (Philippians 2:5-11.) ALL THIS IS THE GREAT TRIUMPH OF LOVE OVER JUSTICE. While Justice remains forever inviolate, yet Love is the Victor. "Mercy rejoiceth against Judgment" --Justice.
God's Wonderful Plan of the Ages.
When we see the Bible teaching concerning the Divine Plan, it gives us a confidence in the Bible that we can get from no other quarter. It is the study of the Bible from the outside, by those who try to tear it into shreds, and the employment of their brains against the Bible, that proves the professors of our day the worst of all times. Only when we perceive from the inside can we see the strength of the Bible. No human mind ever originated such a Plan. It is surely Divine, surely Biblical. We did not discover it, but it was shown to the faithful "in due time."
We know that this great Plan is of God; and the Book that contains such a wonderful Message is surely the Word of God. It must be that those "holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." The Spirit of God indited this wonderful Message. The many men, in various times and places, who uttered the words did not know what they meant. The understanding was not then due. But their words constitute a harmonious whole, and "were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."-- 1 Peter 1:10-12; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4.
Nor could we understand their words until we received the begetting of the Holy Spirit with its consequent enlightenment. This brought these things to our attention in God's due time, and enabled us to understand their meaning. So the Apostle Paul writes to some, "After ye were illuminated, ye endured." (Hebrews 10:32,33.) We now understand what it means to be illuminated. The illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit; which we received at the time of our consecration unto death. This illumination of the Church had its beginning at Pentecost. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given--John 7:39.
The Church is a special class, called out in advance of the world. The early Church had to wait until Jesus had finished His sacrifice for sin, had ascended up on High as the great High Priest, to appear in the presence of God for us (the Church, not yet for the world), to sprinkle the blood of His sacrifice upon the Mercy-Seat on our behalf, and had become the Advocate of those who would follow in His steps. (Hebrews 9:24.) Having made satisfaction for the sins of the consecrated, He imputed His own merit to them, thereby making them [OV408] acceptable to the Father. Not until then could they receive the begetting of the Holy Spirit. Ever since that time the Holy Spirit has been with the Church, begetting each one who came into this class.
With this begetting comes the illumination. We are then sons of God. Not only does this illumination enable us to understand things previously hidden from our eyes, but thereafter all the Word of God becomes food to us, that thereby we may grow in grace, in knowledge, in justice, in love, in all qualities of the Divine character, that thus we may become more like our Father who is in Heaven.
Deliverance of the World Now Due.
Having, then, seen how Divine Justice has operated till now for the future blessing of mankind, we look further, and see that Divine Mercy is now about to gain a great victory for the whole world. As soon as the Church is glorified, the merit of the Redeemer is to be applied for all the human race. But it will require the entire thousand years of Messiah's Reign before Mercy shall have fully triumphed over Justice. We now perceive what Love will be doing for the world throughout those thousand years. It will be awakening mankind from death and lifting them up from degradation to holiness and life.
This will all come through the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be God's Agent, the Agent of Justice and of Love. The faithful Church will be associated with Him in all His Kingdom glory and honor. In order that we may be of this class, not only must we be begotten of the Spirit of God, but we must also manifest the fruits of that Spirit, we must be quickened by it. Then in the First Resurrection we shall be born of the Spirit, and shall share with our Lord this work of love for all mankind, and shall also share His glory forever. At the conclusion of the Millennial Reign this glorious work of Divine Love will have been accomplished. Through all the outworkings of this wonderful Plan, the principles of absolute Justice and absolute Love will be observed, operating in full harmony.
In what manner will God's Justice operate during the next Age toward mankind? may be asked. Some have difficulty in seeing how the world in the future will have their sins forgiven? Will the murderer have the same opportunity as those who have been more noble in their lives? How will Justice then be represented?
We believe that God's dealings will be in full harmony with Justice; that while love will be especially operative or manifest during the Millennial Age, yet Justice will never be violated. Will mankind, in the future, then, be punished for their sins in the present life? Yes, and no. They will not be punished in the sense of being held legally accountable for sins of the past --for this would nullify the work which Christ accomplished in His death in providing satisfaction for Adamic sin. Christ having made satisfaction for the sins of believers, this class are no longer legally responsible for them. The same principle will operate with the world in the future.
How Justice Operates.
For the present we will consider the Church of Christ. Suppose one had lived in such a way as to have gotten himself into a bad condition of body, mind or morals. These things will be more or less as a penalty upon him after he has become a Christian. Although God has forgiven his sins and cleans him from all unrighteousness, nevertheless such a one will have in his body or in his mind certain natural penalties resulting from his previous sinful course. If he had lived a sinful life for many years, the evil would be so much the more deeply entrenched; and he will have all the greater fight to overcome these deeply imbedded tendencies to sin. One who has lived a conscientious, moral life will have just that much less to overcome.
If through evil thoughts or evil [OV409] deeds the mind of that person has become poisoned, he may have to battle all his life against the seeds of sin, not in the way of direct punishment for his wrong doing, but through natural law; for the New Creature is to be developed while tabernacling in the flesh wherein the evil seeds have been sown. It is like a piece of land which has long been given over to weeds, in which case the roots would have become deeply entrenched in the soil. This land may afterward be changed into a wheat-field; but we know from experience that the weeds will be there also, and that the wheat will not flourish so readily, because of this fact.
It is even so with our hearts and our bodies. After we have given them to the Lord the fleshly tendencies are still there. God has accepted us as New Creatures; His grace has covered our sins; and they are no longer chargeable to us. But whoever has had a larger planting of sin in his former life may have to his dying day a great battle against these poisonous weeds; and that will be a proper and natural punishment for his past course. So it will be in the future. The world will get retribution for their sins, just as we do for ours, and it will take many years to get entirely free from the effects of sin.
THE WORD OF GOD
OH, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!
True wisdom its pages unfold;
And though we may read them a thousand times o'er,
They never, no never, grow old!
Each line hath a pleasure, each promise a pearl,
That all if they will may secure;
And we know that when time and the world pass away,
God's Word shall forever endure.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!
The lamp that our Father above
So kindly hath lighted to teach us the way
That leads to the arms of His love!
Its warnings, its counsels, are faithful and just;
Its judgments are perfect and pure;
And we know that when time and the world pass away,
God's Word shall forever endure.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful Word of the Lord!
Our only salvation is there;
It carries conviction down deep in the heart,
And shows us ourselves as we are.
It tells of a Savior, and points to the cross,
Where pardon we now may secure;
And we know that when time and the world pass away,
God's Word shall forever endure.
[OV410]
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day
Study of Church History in the
Light of the Bible Proves Claims
of Church Dignitaries Unfounded
By Pastor Russell
(This is the First of a Series of Three Contributions to the "Overland" from the famous Pastor of The New York City Temple and Brooklyn and London Tabernacles.)
"And thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles and are not, and hast found them liars."--Revelation 2:2.
PART I.
THERE is just one class in the world to-day and for centuries past who have been claiming to be Apostles, and who are not Apostles, according to our text. The Bible shows us unmistakably that God never designed that there should be more than twelve Apostles of the Lamb. Let us refresh your memory on this point: Our Lord Jesus, in response to a question by the Apostle Peter, said to the Twelve: "Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed Me, in the Regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of His Glory, shall also sit upon Twelve Thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matthew 19:28.) There were to be only Twelve Apostolic Thrones--no more. Again, in Revelation 12:1, we have a picture given of the Church. She is shown as a woman clothed with the sun (the Gospel), having the moon (the Jewish Law, which supports the Church, but is not the source of her light) under her feet, and having on her head a Crown of Twelve Stars (her Divinely appointed and inspired teachers). We see that there were only Twelve of these Stars authorized by God, St. Paul taking the place of Judas.
I remind you of another picture of this matter given by our Lord Jesus to John the Revelator, who was one of The Twelve. In Revelation 21:9-27 the glorified Church is shown--see also verses 2-5. The Church is here pictured as coming down out of Heaven to begin her great work for the blessing of the world of mankind. Now note particularly that this glorified Church is shown as having Twelve Foundations, and in these foundations the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb. (Verse 14.) There were never any more purposed by the Lord. So we see that it is through some very serious blunder that our Roman Catholic friends have Bishops claiming to be Apostolic Bishops. And it is by a similar blunder that our Church of England friends claim that they have Apostolic Bishops. It is the same with our Greek Catholic friends.
God's Word Must Be Spoken
Faithfully.
Jesus says that those who make claims of being Apostles when they are not are lying. You and I are not to follow what the customs of the past centuries have taught us, but what the [OV411] Lord Jesus Himself says. He is the Authority. We have a certain amount of sympathy for these gentlemen, who have dropped into certain positions, and who have been taught for centuries that they were Apostles just the same as the original Twelve appointed by our Lord, having the same inspiration and speaking with the same authority. We have sympathy for them in that they are sadly deluded, but this will not hinder any of us, I trust, from remembering what Jesus said and taking the right viewpoint. "Thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." We are not saying anything uncharitable, for we are to speak the Lord's Word. "He that hath a dream (an imagination), let him tell a dream; but he that hath My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully." (Jeremiah 23:28.) If we hold back for fear of man, then we would be sharing in the sin and wrong.
It may be asked, What is the difference whether they call themselves Apostolic Bishops or not? I answer, There is much difference. While at the present time these men have discarded the great claims once made, or at least do not attempt to speak with the authority of former days, because mankind are becoming more enlightened and their claims would appear more and more absurd, yet they still claim that they are the only ones who have the right to give authority to any to preach. They claim that if they do not ordain a man to preach he has no right to speak in the name of the Lord at all. They claim this right because they are "Apostolic Bishops." They are, however, not pressing this claim before the world and before the Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans and others so loudly as formerly. These others inquire: "Why do you stand aloof from us?" and they do not quite like to tell fully their reasons. They hesitate to say to them, We are the Church, We are the Apostles, and you have no right to preach unless we ordain you; you are not God's servants. They do not like to state this, and hence they are in a somewhat vacillating condition to-day.
We remember that about four years ago the Bishops of the Church of England, the Episcopal Church, held a meeting in Detroit, and there passed resolutions that they would be willing to fraternize with other denominations provided they were orthodox, which meant, provided they were in harmony with the teachings of Episcopalians. Anybody else would be unorthodox, and that would mean that they would refuse to recognize them in any way-- they would have no right to preach.
How the People Became Dependent
on the Clergy.
These claims of Apostolic Succession in the past got the Church into a great deal of trouble and confusion, from which we have not yet recovered. The great mass of Christian people are still bewildered. Beginning some time before the year 325 A.D., this doctrine had been growing. The bishops were beginning to "lord it over God's heritage," as the Apostle Peter says (1 Peter 5:3), and to manifest the sentiment, "We are higher than you--you are only the common people; we are of a different class altogether." This lording came in very gradually, as such things generally do, and was associated later with the declaration that the people were the "laity," and that the Church was composed of the "clergy"--the priests, Bishops, arch-Bishops, Cardinals and the Pope. All had the general thought that these were Apostles, and had their varying degrees of authority from the Lord.
We are to remember that until a few centuries ago copies of the Bible were very scarce, and a Bible was worth really a fortune, because they had to be printed out by pen by scholars, and these were few. They had to be printed upon fine vellum parchment, as there were at that time no printing presses nor paper. These things were later inventions. One copy of the manuscripts of Scripture, carefully done by hand, would cost from $500 [OV412] to $1,000, because it would require a long time to write out the entire Bible under such circumstances. Hence few had Bibles, and there were very few who could read at that time. In those days education was only for the wealthy and favored class, and even in the British Parliament some could not write their names, and a bill was passed permitting any member of the House of Lords who could not sign his name to make an X instead. Under such conditions, the people were very dependent upon the Church Bishops. When these began to claim that they were Apostolic Bishops, from that time on, instead of reading the Scriptures to the people, they gave them to understand that they were the proper ones to read and interpret the Scriptures, that they had received this authority from the Lord.
Jesus said to the Twelve Apostles that whatsoever they should bind on earth should be bound in Heaven, and that whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in Heaven. Their writings were especially supervised by the Lord and their doctrinal utterances inspired. So you see that these inspired writings of the Apostles in their various Epistles are as authoritative as were the words of Jesus. (Romans 16:25-27; 2 Corinthians 12:7, Galatians 1:11,12.) The Apostle Paul assures us that "the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." Hence we need no further doctrinal utterances and no more writings than the Scriptures supply, and we have no need of any more Apostles than the original Twelve--St. Paul taking Judas' place. Since the advent of printing and since the close of the 1260 symbolic days--1260 years --of Papal persecution, Bibles have been printed in immense quantities and scattered far and wide by the Bible societies, and education has become general. To-day, Bibles are everywhere and are very cheap, so that all can read.
Let us go back again to the year 325 A.D. By that time the Church bishops were claiming that they were Apostolic Bishops, with Apostolic authority. They claimed that they were the living Apostles, whose teachings were the voice of God. But these Apostles did not agree among themselves as did the early Apostles, the real Apostles; for when we read the writings of the Apostles appointed by our Lord we find that they all agree. But by the year 325 A.D. a positive position was taken as to belief. Emperor Constantine of Rome called for a Council of Bishops to be held in the city of Nice, or Nicea, in Bithynia, Asia Minor. The Emperor was apparently a very wise man, according to worldly standards, and he had said to himself: "My pagan supporters are gradually slipping from me, and the Christian religion seems to be coming to the front. I think I can make a good stroke of policy by joining in with the Christians."
Origin of the Nicene Creed.
The Emperor did not become a real Christian; for he was never baptized to his dying day. He professed Christianity for policy's sake. While we cannot judge his heart, and say that he had no motive of sincerity whatever, still the policy idea was surely there, as evidenced all through the matter. In this year, 325 A.D., he sent out a call everywhere to all the Bishops of the churches to come to the city of Nicea for a general convention. He offered to pay all expenses. So about 384 Bishops--far from the entire number-- came together, and a conference was held. This was the first Ecumenical Council, aside from the one held at Jerusalem by the Apostles of Jesus themselves. This was claimed to be another meeting of Apostles, and the Emperor, not knowing but that they were fully authorized, made the following proposition to them:
You all claim to be Apostles, but you have different theories, and there are dissensions among you. Evidently there is something wrong. I will suggest what will set you all straight: I propose that at this Council you set [OV413] forth your views, what you consider the proper orthodox doctrines. Agree among you as to what these are. Then hereafter, whatever shall be taught by any that differs from these agreed-upon doctrines shall be heterodox--heresy. Further, I propose to join myself to you, to unite with your Church. I want your support, and you need my support. When you get my support, the pagan peoples will flock into your Church by hordes--they will be anxious to get in. I will back up your doctrines and all heretics will have a hard time in the Roman Empire. You make the Creed and declare what is Orthodoxy, and then leave its enforcement to me. I will attend to the heretics in the present life, and you can tell them of their eternal roastings throughout the future.
Thus the Nicene Creed was formulated, the first of the great creeds, and it was made by these self-appointed "Apostolic Bishops." So between the Emperor and the Bishops a heavy hand was laid upon the people. The Bishops had a strong grasp upon them. Being uneducated, the Church leaders had them largely at their mercy. These Bishops had assured the Emperor that they had full authority from God to decide as to what were the teachings of Scripture, and the Emperor took their word for it. That was the end of Bible study, you see; there was no more use for the Bible. It was all interpreted for them. They were to follow the Nicene Creed. It was not necessary for them to study for themselves the writings of Moses and the Prophets, or what the Jewish Apostles of Jesus said. They had "apostles" inspired of God right with them, and these could teach them all they needed to know.
CHRIST WITHIN
A LIVING Christ, of wondrous birth,
Who trod the dreary paths of earth,
Shedding abroad His holy light
Through the deep gloom of sin's dark night.
A dying Christ, whose precious blood
Seals the poor sinner's peace with God;
And fills the soul with fullest love,
Like to the joy prepared above.
A Christ ascended--all is done,
A world redeemed, a victory won.
With angel hosts, a glorious throng,
We'll sing with joy salvation's song.
A living Christ our spirits need,
A loving Christ our souls to feed;
A dying Christ, our ransom He,
A risen Christ to set us free.
This, too, our need--a Christ within,
A life with God, afar from sin,
A Christ whose love our hearts shall fill,
And quite subdue our wayward will.
[OV414]
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day
Study of Church History in the
Light of the Bible Proves Claims
of Church Dignitaries Unfounded
By Pastor Russell
Pastor of the New York City
Temple and Brooklyn and
London Tabernacles
PART II
Bible Restored After 1200 Years.
FROM the time the Nicene creed was thus foisted upon the people until twelve hundred years after, the Bible was an unknown Book to the people. During those twelve hundred years there were, I think, seventeen Councils held, and many of these produced creeds having different variations, all with much of nonsense for people to be worried with. And all this was done by those deceived men who thought they were Apostles and were not. It is all this stuff that has given the so-called Christian world so much trouble.
At the close of this period, in the year 1526 A.D., Professor Tyndale, a scholarly Christian man, not fully in accord with the Bishops, because he was too Scriptural, but tolerated because of his learning and good Christian character, translated the Greek New Testament into English that the people might know what were the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles. He felt that there had been too much of the teachings of men. By that time printing presses and paper had been invented. Professor Tyndale was compelled to go to Germany to get his translation printed, after some difficulty succeeding in having it done in the city of Worms. This step was made necessary because of the adverse influence of the English Bishops. The Testaments were then imported to London. They were placed in the shops for sale. The matter became noised abroad, and the people were anxious to get them. They desired to know just what was taught by Christ and the Apostles. It was proposed that Bible classes be started and educated men employed to read to the people.
What did the Bishops then do? They heard about the movement, and being world-wise men, they knew what the effect would be if the people learned of the real teachings of the Bible. Their own power and influence would soon be gone. The people would be asking, "Where did you Bishops get your authority to make creeds and to call yourselves Apostles? We find nothing of that kind in the Bible." So the Bishops shrewdly determined to nip this matter in the bud. Accordingly they bought up the entire edition and burned the books in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The spot is marked to this day. It is a matter of history. And these were Protestant Bishops of the Church of England! Moreover, this faithful servant of the Lord, Professor William Tyndale, was later apprehended and imprisoned near Brussels, and after [OV415] a protracted trial for heresy, was strangled and his body burned at the stake. How terrible are the blinding influences of Satan!
For forty years after the burning of the New Testament in London the people kept complaining and wondering why the Bishops took the Bible from them. Finally the Bishops concluded that perhaps they were going too far, and that policy demanded that they let the people have the Bible. So they got out a special edition, which they called "The Bishop's Bible." They put them into the shops and told the people they might buy them. They assured them that it was the Bishops who were giving them the Bible. However, they solemnly warned the people of the great risk they were incurring in reading the Bible for themselves, and impressed upon them the necessity of giving it no other interpretation than what had been given by the Bishops, because they were sure of going to eternal torment if they did not prove loyal to the creeds.
This warning had its desired effect. Everybody was on the alert to keep in line with the creed. The Catholic Bishops soon were practically forced to do as the Protestant Bishops had done, and they issued the Douay Version of the Bible, prepared at the clerical university of Douay, France. They gave this to their Catholic flocks, accompanying it with the same warnings as the Protestant Bishops had given to their people. Thus the influence of the Bible was for a long time largely nullified, and the people were kept in superstitious fear and under the influence of the Church authorities.
But the Bible could not be fully put down, and in time the entire Scriptures were translated into the various tongues of the people, and as education after the beginning of the Nineteenth Century became much more general, and Bible Societies sprang into existence, the people began to read for themselves as never before, and superstition has been gradually breaking down, the people are daring to think for themselves. Some are still fettered by superstition, but the number is gradually lessening, and the shackles breaking. It is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that all of their own people are to go to Purgatory after death to be tortured awhile. No Catholic expects to go at death to Heaven. He must first have certain experiences in Purgatory to fit him for Heaven. To be a heretic, from the Catholic standpoint, is to commit the worst of crimes, and not to believe the creed and their priests is heresy. Heretics are bound, not for Purgatory, but for eternal torture. So a devout Catholic has great fear of being a heretic. Thus we find but comparatively few Catholics even to-day who dare to read the Bible.
Drunk With the Wine of Babylon.
How much trouble all this nonsense and false teaching has caused! Instead of reading the Bible in the light of the creeds, we should read the creeds in the light of the Bible. Then their absurdity is at once apparent. They have been a sore bondage upon God's people. But all this will be overruled for good. It will teach mankind a never-to-be-forgotten lesson. The Bible foretold it all. The Apostle Paul declared that "many would depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." (1 Timothy 4:1-3; Acts 20:29,30.) It is upon these seducing spirits that we lay the blame--Satan and his fallen angels. We are not claiming that our Catholic and Episcopalian friends have really intended to perpetrate a fraud. But with the Apostle Paul we claim that they were deceived by the great Adversary and his hosts of evil spirits.
We are beginning to see that a God of Love could never arrange any such Plan for His creatures as is claimed by the creeds. Our loving Creator has been painted blacker than the blackest Devil imaginable. "Oh, that is too strong!" says one. No, it is not, my brother. If you will take a pencil [OV416] and paper and sit down and deliberately write out a description of the worst Devil your imagination can picture --paint him as black as possible-- then compare your picture with what the creeds have made out our God to be, what they have declared He has done and is doing, and will continue to do through all eternity, you will find that your description is less black than our great Creator is painted.
We have been in the habit, especially we Protestants, of quoting the text, "God is Love," and also, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him," and "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy," and kindred passages of Scripture; we have hung these upon our walls. But there must have come sober thoughts when we have asked ourselves, How can God be a God of Love, and how can He be like a father that pities his children, and how can He be plenteous in mercy, and at the same time make a Plan before the world was created for the eternal torture of the vast majority of His human creatures, brought into the world without any volition of their own, and placed under conditions that made it almost impossible for the majority to do right and to live Christian lives, many of them untaught in the ways of righteousness? We cannot help reasoning, you know!
Now, what does the Bible say about all this? The Lord Jesus declares, in His Message through the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation (17:1-6), that we have all been drunk with the wine of Babylon, the drink mixed by the apostate Woman, the Mother of Harlots. He says that this Woman has held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication, and that she made all the nations drunk with the wine of her false doctrines and blasphemies. Now we see where these horrible doctrines came from. The nations are still drunk to-day. Very few know how to reason straight on religious matters even yet. People can reason on any other subject than religion. We have been something like a man having delirium tremens, who sees snakes and lizards around his coat collar. In our bewildered, intoxicated condition we have seen visions of flames, and of devils with tails and pitchforks, of poor humanity writhing in these flames, and the devils taking delight in prodding them and seeing how much they could add to their tortures. Some have come to have a somewhat more refined idea of Hell. They declare that the torture will be eternal, but it will be mental rather than physical, that it will consist of agonies of terror and remorse, which they say will be as bad or worse than physical tortures. And these are the kinds of imaginations we have labored under in our blindness and intoxication.
With Greater Light Came Further
Satanic Devices.
Thank God that some of us are sobering up! And we believe the majority of intelligent people are beginning to think a little more rationally. A couple of centuries ago one's life would have been seriously jeopardized if he had dared to hint at the truth on this subject. Let us rejoice that to-day one dares to think and to express the truth on this vital matter. This is an evidence of much progress. Luther, Knox, Calvin, Wesley and other reformers saw some light, and they were noble men, Christian men, true children of God, living up to their light. But they did not have all the light. We could not expect that at one or two bounds men could get out of all the darkness of more than twelve centuries and into the full blaze of Light and Truth, could we? They all had on creed spectacles. They would smash one set and get another.
But we praise God for the light they did bring in. We surely are thankful for one doctrine that Brother Martin Luther gave us, or that God gave us through him--the doctrine of justification by faith, instead of justification by penances and Masses, etc. The [OV417] Bible says, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The just shall live by faith." God does not say that we should wear hair jackets to torture ourselves, nor anything else of that kind, to do penance. All those things came from people who meant well, but who did not have the Bible, and who thus got far away from its spirit.
So we praise God for the Reformers, and I believe that whether we are Catholics or Protestants we will agree that the world has had a great liberation from some of the stupidities and darkness and from the "fog" that was once so dense. But there is plenty to learn yet; for we have not yet come into the full light of the Perfect Day. Respecting the Reformation, through the angel Gabriel in His Message to the Prophet Daniel, the Lord speaks thus: "Now when they (the true Church) shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries." (Daniel 11:31-35.) What did these Reformers do? Well, they also made a mistake. I think again it was the Adversary and not themselves who caused this. They were misled by the flatteries of kings and princes who offered them their backing in return for support of their kingdoms.
The Apostle Paul tells us that Satan is always trying to be a leader, and that he poses as an angel of light, and that his apostles also do the same. The Lutherans and Calvinists and the others each made their creed, and so to speak they fenced themselves off and put down their stake, and said, "Here we stand; we will live and die by this creed." And they got no further; they were fastened right there. Each one said: "There is only one Church, and we are it." We think that is just what the Adversary desired; for each sect persecuted the others. They had gotten this suggestion from the centuries behind them. So the Catholics persecuted the Protestants and the Protestants persecuted the Catholics, and the different sects of Protestantism persecuted each other. This fact is familiar to all who have studied history. They thought that if God was going to send these people to Hell to roast them forever, why should they not be faithful servants of God and help His work along?
But public sentiment gradually changed. The people became more educated, and the human mind was thus more exercised, and Church Bishops found it less popular to chase people over the mountains, hinder them from holding meetings, etc. Ever since about 1846 we have been in the place where all Christian denominations who are considered orthodox fellowship one another, except the great denominations of Roman and Greek Catholicism and the Church of England. These are still loth to recognize the other churches, or any church except themselves, because the others did not get their ordination from them. But the others have now become so influential that they do not need to care much. They have a sort of general creed among them that all subscribe to. All must believe in eternal torment and in the inherent immortality of the soul and in the Trinity.
These are all cardinal errors brought down from the paganism of the Dark Ages. None of these doctrines is taught in the Bible! Not a word of them! We would be glad to help these people out of the darkness, but it is not possible with the majority as yet. Why? Because each creed has set a stake, and there is a sentiment among them: "Don't be turncoats! Your father and mother were Methodists, or Baptists, or Presbyterians, or Lutherans, and you should be true to the religion of your fathers." This is a narrow, sectarian spirit. Did God ever authorize any of these sects? No! no! Then all these different denominations are without the slightest authority from God or the Book of God. Is not that true? It is true. Would anybody dispute it? No, for it is incontrovertible. Please read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. What does God tell us is the right way? It is that the [OV418] Church of Christ should be united-- not federated, each still holding to its own creed, but united, in the one faith once delivered to the saints.
Modern Hypocrisy and Lukewarmness.
The Lord tells us in His Word that "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." He tells us that we are to walk in the light, and that we are not to become entangled in any yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1). We have neglected the Word of God. We have gotten into bondage and sectarianism. What is the condition to-day? The condition is a very sad and sorrowful one. We would prefer not to say what we feel that we must say, because it seems like a very severe arraignment. And yet, when you think it over carefully, you will be convinced that professed Christian people in general are living in unrecognized hypocrisy. You ask them if they believe the creed of their church, and the answer will be, "Oh, no, I don't believe that! None of our--well, I don't believe it!" No, of course, he does not! "But," some may say, "when a great lot of people are doing the same thing, it doesn't seem so bad." We answer that if one person professes a falsehood and sails under false colors it is bad. If two do it, it is twice as bad. If a thousand do so, it is a thousand times as bad. If millions do it, it is millions of times as bad. The more there are who are hypocritical the worse it is. Is not that logical? Of course it is. So if any one tells you he is a Presbyterian and believes his creed, you may be sure that he has not read it. And so with the others.
We had a little discussion in the newspapers some time ago, and the reporters of the papers visited the ministers of the different churches and asked them if they believed their creed. The majority said, "No; we don't believe the creed; we never read it." But in taking the vow of allegiance to their denomination they profess to believe the creed. What, then, do these ministers mean? So we see the same condition in both pulpit and pew. All persecution has ceased in these denominations; they are entertained by scholarly dissertations, fine oratory and flowery essays that lull the people to soft repose, and a general condition of apathy and lukewarmness exists.--Revelation 3:14-18.
This is a terrible state to be in. Those who are awake, whose eyes are open to present conditions, believe that we are now at the very close of the present Gospel Age. This great war in Europe is the beginning of Armageddon. Right along after this war is coming the great "Earthquake" mentioned in Revelation--a mighty Revolution --so mighty an "Earthquake" as has never been since man has been upon the earth, overthrowing all these kingdoms of the world. In Europe they call themselves kingdoms of God, and represent that they have authority from God. Each kingdom thinks God is on its side and against its foes, the other kingdoms of God (?). None of them have any authority from God whatever. We see the conditions fast ripening that will demolish in a maelstrom of ruin and chaos all these kingdoms and governments of the world, and then, just beyond that, the "fire" of Anarchy, which will utterly destroy present civilization. And beyond that, what? Oh, thank God; the "still, small voice" of the Lord Himself, speaking peace through Emanuel-- the Kingdom of God's dear Son, the Kingdom in which every true saint of God is to have a share! "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne."--Revelation 3:21.
O WHAT, if we are Christ's,
Is earthly shame or loss?
Bright shall the crown of glory be
When we have borne the cross.
[OV419]
Pseudo Apostles of the Present Day
By Pastor Russell
Pastor of The New York City
Temple and Brooklyn and
London Tabernacles
PART III
"And thou hast tried them which say
they are Apostles, and are not, and
hast found them liars."--
The Present Outlook.
NOW, this is what we are expecting. We do not know just how soon it will be. It may be months, it may be a year or so. But we see that it is very near. We cannot think that the present conditions in Europe will last very much longer without revolution breaking out. I shall be much astonished if some of the countries do not enter into revolution within a year. These nations are impoverishing themselves. Great Britain has already contracted a debt of thirteen billions of dollars, and her minister of finance has told her that nine billions more will be required to keep the war running another year. That will make twenty-two billions. What does that mean? It means that at 5 per cent interest, one billion one hundred million of dollars would have to be raised every year just to pay the interest alone. Do you think the British people can afford to raise that amount every year? Not at all! Do you think they will do it? No. I believe these bonds will be repudiated, and not in Great Britain alone, but the same is true of France and of Russia. Their children for generations to come could not pay off those debts. They are madly attempting to embargo future generations. Yet all of these countries are saying: "We will not give in. We must conquer!" Well, we shall see! I stake my opinion on the Bible. All these nations will become more and more weakened, revolution everywhere will follow, and they will be crumbled into dust. Every one of them will pass away. Not a kingdom will be left in all Europe.
Then what will come? Anarchy, naturally enough. And all this because the rich and the poor will say: "Never mind the law!" just as the nations are now saying, in the same anarchistic spirit, "Never mind international law!" Every one of these nations has violated international law. Is this a Christian war? Of course, they all claim that they are fighting for the good of the human race, for the advancement of progress and civilization. But they are fighting to maintain their commerce on the sea, and they are willing to barter the lives of hundreds of thousands, yes, millions of men, if they can preserve their financial standing and increase it and have plenty of business for the future. That is their attitude.
Until this war began it was thought proper to sell even an enemy bread, just as the Bible says, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." But the latest form of Christian (?) doctrine is, "Starve him! Let us take every advantage possible!" Not even by parcel post or in any way can any food get into Germany. All this is the spirit of anarchy. And it will spread from nations to individuals. The Bible describes what is coming: "Every man's hand shall be against his brother. There shall be no peace to him that goeth out, nor to him that cometh in."-- [OV420] Zechariah 8:10; 14:13; Isaiah 9:19; 19:2; Ezekiel 38:21-23.
Man's Extremity God's Opportunity.
Ominous as are present conditions, the true children of God can with peace and confidence look up and lift up their heads, since they know that however terrible may be the oncoming troubles, God has provided that through this doorway--Armageddon-- Messiah's Kingdom is to be ushered in --the Kingdom of God's dear Son. It will mean deliverance, first to the Church of Christ, then to the world. The Bible intimates very clearly that just at the height of anarchy, when men get to the place where everything is going by the board, then will be the opportune moment for Messiah to intervene. Man's extremity will be God's opportunity.
In the 107th Psalm, verses 25-31, there is a picture given representing a great storm at sea when men are tossed about and in a terrible condition, and their souls melt within them. "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses; He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." Then there is another similar picture. Our Lord Jesus stilled the waves upon the sea of Galilee when the storm was raging and threatening to engulf the ship and all therein. The disciples cried to the Master in their distress, and He arose and rebuked the wind and the waves, and said: "Peace! be still!" and immediately the billows were quiet and the winds ceased, and all was calm. We believe this is a picture of how the Kingdom of Christ will be inaugurated. The Lord will wait until the world is frenzied with fear and despair. They will come to see then that unless the Lord helps them all is lost, everything will go to destruction. Then they will cry unto Him as did the disciples of old, when they said, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?"
The nations will not then pray to the Lord as they are praying now, each taking it for granted that He is on their side--not as the Germans pray, saying: "God is with us. Lord, give us the victory over the Russians and French and British!" and not as the Russians, British and French are praying, "Lord bless our armies, and give us the victory over the Germans; help us to crush them!" No, no! It will then be a prayer of real distress. They will not be boasting then, they will have become humble. For "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day (the Day now begun.)" (Isaiah 2:11,12,17-22.) But the Lord will permit present civilization to go into destruction, because He has something far better for the world. He will not put a patch upon the old garment. He will have an altogether new arrangement. There will be a "new heavens," a new ecclesiastical arrangement, the Church in glory, and a "new earth," a new social and political order, under control of the Heavenly Kingdom then to take the reins of government.
When we see that it is through the portals of this great Time of Trouble, a trouble such as never was since there was a nation, that the wonderful blessings of Messiah's Kingdom are to come, then we can have confidence in God and rest of heart even while we see the clouds gathering blacker and blacker. We can rejoice, not at the pain and sorrow and trouble, but because we know that as soon as the entire Church is glorified with her Lord the Kingdom will be fully set up in power, which is to bless and deliver all the families of the earth and bring to mankind the full, clear knowledge of the true character of God, and scatter all the ignorance and blindness, and raise men up from their fallen condition of sin, sorrow and death, up into the light and blessedness of sons of God--whosoever will, when clear light and opportunity are given.
So our hearts are calm and restful in the Lord, despite present conditions and what is soon to come. It will be [OV421] a brief, dark night, just before the glorious Morning. It will be the wound of the kind but skilful Surgeon who wounds to heal. The malady affecting mankind requires thorough and drastic treatment. Then, in view of these things, let us point men, not so much to the troubles now accumulating and just ahead, but rather to the great blessings beyond. Let us point them to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone there will be safety and rest and strength in this Time of Trouble. The great plowshare of sorrow must do its necessary work to prepare mankind for the New Age, with its uplifting blessings under the Kingdom of Christ.
WHOM WILL YE SERVE?
John 19:12,13.
CAESAR'S friends? or friends of Jesus?
Solemn question for to-day!
Friends of Caesar! Friends of Jesus!
Take your sides without delay.
If ye pause for man's forbidding,
Caesar's friendship ye secure;
If ye do the Father's bidding,
Scorn, reproach, ye shall endure.
Friends of Caesar! Friends of Jesus!
Stand revealed! your choice declare!
Who in truth two masters pleases?
Who may rival banners bear?
Jesus' friends account Him precious,
Lose for Him all other gain:
Dearer far the smile of Jesus
Than the praise of worldly men.
Free from Caesar, friends of Jesus!
Stand in phalanx! never fear!
Love, severely tried, increases;
Courage yet! the Lord is near!
Onward still, His name confessing,
Weaving crowns to grace His brow;
Lo! His hands are full of blessing,
Lifted for your succor now.
Caesar's friends were we, but Jesus
Owns us for His friends to-day!
What! shall rival friendship please us,
While the Bridegroom is away?
No! through grace would we surrender
Caesar's things to Caesar's care,
Whilst to God, our God, we render
Filial homage, praise, and prayer.
[OV422]
Jehovah's Saintly Jewels
By C. T. Russell
Pastor New York Temple and
Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"When they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it; and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name. 'And they shall be Mine,' saith the Lord of Hosts, 'in that Day when I make up My jewels.'"--Malachi 3:16,17. A VERY important trait of character in any one is humility, and especially in the Christian. If we do not possess humility and meekness, the Lord cannot use us, and we cannot make any progress. We do not know what may be one another's difficulties; but we know that we all have imperfections. We should fight a good fight with ourselves. If we get ourselves into full line with the will of the Lord, He will help us by His providences.
Should our imperfection be especially along the line of lack of meekness the Lord will try us in this respect, to show us our need in this direction. Or, it may be along the line of a lack of gentleness. We may be rude, and may say and do things in an unkind manner. The Lord may therefore permit us to have certain trials in order to give us an opportunity of developing this quality of character. We may have tests of love for the brethren, for our own family, for our neighbors. The Lord might even hide His face from us for a time to give us a test of love for Him.
All such experiences "work together for good to them that love God, to the called according to His purpose." These are the ones who are desirous above everything else of becoming copies of God's dear Son. With these the Lord is now dealing.
The Loyal May Have Confidence.
This matter of our testing and trying as New Creatures begins with our begetting of the Holy Spirit, and ends when we die. But one may be sure he is an overcomer; one may have confidence, "full assurance of faith." (Hebrews 10:22.) When we entered into our covenant with God (Psalm 50:5), we gave Him our time, our talents, our influence, our strength-- everything that we had. In return, He gave us the begetting of His Holy Spirit, His providential care, and His exceeding great and precious promises respecting the future. If we are still seeking to walk in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, then all is well with us. Therefore we need not fear. If any one breaks the contract, it will be ourselves. God will surely carry out His part.--1 Thessalonians 5:24.
Thus we may have confidence, in accordance with the Divinely appointed conditions. As the Apostle says, "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." (1 John 3:20,21.) But if our heart condemn us, then it is not well with us. If we have not been living faithfully to the full extent of our ability, then our hearts will condemn us; and what our heart condemns in us God will also condemn. This means that if we wish to become members of the Bride class, we must be more diligent, more zealous. We must study our character, and see to it that we develop the necessary qualities for a position in the glorified Church.
Ask yourself, "How much have I cultivated these Heavenly fruits and graces--the faith, the patience and the brotherly kindness that go with Love?" Then say to yourself, "This [OV423] day I shall keep watch over myself and note what my hands are doing, how my time is spent, what my words are, what my thoughts are." Whoever has a proper love for our Lord, a proper appreciation of what He has done for us and of what He will yet do, will not find this careful scrutiny of thought, word and deed a hard thing. It brings before us continually thoughts of God and of Christ, and of the glorious things which He has in reservation for those who love Him more than anything else.
Those who thus study their character are the class mentioned in our text when it says, "They that reverenced the Lord spake often one to another." They speak to one another in Bible studies, in prayer meetings, every Sunday at worship or in the home. They wish to have all the helps the Lord is providing in these last days. They desire to know all the various parts of God's Plan. They have become separated from the masses of nominal Christians and have been brought together through the knowledge of His Word. So now they converse about the good things that the Lord has shown them. They have a fellowship of spirit.
This desire for fellowship with those of like precious faith is not selfishness nor an impropriety. This class are especially anxious for fellowship with those who have characters similar to their own, similar faith in the precious blood of Christ, similar consecration, those who are passing through similar experiences at the hands of the great Polisher of the jewels. Their conversation, therefore, will be respecting "the things which belong to their peace"--the things which are uppermost in their hearts; for this class are all seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and in earthly things are content with whatever the Lord's providence shall arrange for them.
God's Book of Remembrance.
When "the Lord hearkened and heard" this class who spoke often one to another, He had a book of remembrance written for them. It is not that the Almighty had to write down this information so as not to forget, but that this statement gives us the thought that He does not forget and that He loves this class. God loves the world with a broad, sympathetic love; but He has a special love for His true Church, those who have consecrated themselves fully to Him during this Gospel Age. To such the Master says, "The Father Himself loveth you." They are as dear to Him as the apple of His eye.-- John 3:16; 16:27; Zechariah 2:8.
This book of remembrance was kept for those who thought upon His name. In olden times the name stood for the character. Now we too often give names at random. Too many times an ignoble character bears a noble name. But in olden times people were very particular to attach a name that would fit the person's character. For instance our Lord was named Jesus because He was to save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21.) Jesus means Savior. God's name stands for His character, glorious in righteousness.
Not very many think highly of the character of our God. There is a reason for this. For centuries the religious teachers have described the Divine character in such a way as to make it very undesirable for any to think much about Him. To many the name Jehovah God stands for One who is to be feared for His mighty power, for One who will throw him over to the Devil, rather than for one who is to be loved because of His great love for all His creatures.
But with God's dear children this is not so. They love God and delight to study about His name, His character, and to think of His care for them. They are trying diligently to be like their Father in Heaven; and He is showing them His character more and more. Something of the lengths, the breadths, the heights and the depths of His wonderful love has been revealed to this class; and they are still longing to know more about Him.
[OV424]
By and by the world will be made to know about God's wonderful character and Plan. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God will then fill the whole earth. (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14.) But the Church of Christ get this knowledge beforehand. In coming into the family of God we have entered the School of Christ, and He is teaching us all these things. They are written in the Bible "for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come," in order that by thus knowing Him we may be prepared for our glorious inheritance with Christ Jesus our Lord and Head.--1 Corinthians 10:11; Colossians 1:12.
The Lord's Precious Jewels.
God's promise to this class that reverenced Him and thought upon His name is that they shall be His in that Day when He shall make up His jewels. As one who cares for precious jewels, so God cares for His saints. The man who handles the jewels sees to it first that they are properly cut and polished; and afterwards he mounts them. They would not look well except they were mounted; for the mounting has much to do with the beauty of the jewels.
God is now cutting and polishing these saintly jewels of His. The first and greatest of these was our Lord Jesus Christ. The twelve Apostles were twelve large stones, fine grained and beautifully cut. Throughout the Gospel Age jewels of different sizes have been found and cut. Presently God will mount all the jewels that remain unmounted. This mounting is done in the First Resurrection.
Of His jewels our God will make a beautiful diadem, set in the gold of the Divine nature. Is He to wear this royal diadem? Oh, no! Jehovah needs no diadem to add to the charms of His Person. To the jewel class the Prophet declares: "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." (Isaiah 62:3.) The Church will be in the HAND of our God, to be exhibited to angels and to men, as a marvelous piece of workmanship, which God has wrought.
In preparing these jewels the Lord has not used force, coercion. Originally they were some of the poor sons and daughters of Adam. God did not compel them to leave their father's house, but simply led them by His Spirit and by the exceeding great and precious promises of His Word. Ultimately they will be diamonds of the first water--pure, stainless. They are to be faultless in love before the Father; and perfect love casts out not only fear, but also selfishness, animosity, evil surmisings, evil speaking, pride and self-love. As they daily think upon the character of God, His goodness, His infinity, His Plan, His love, they come to know Him more and more intimately, and to realize His grand perfection more clearly. Thus they are gradually changed into His character-likeness--"from glory to glory."--2 Corinthians 3:18.
God's Jewels are His Sons.
The Lord presents to us in His Word great truths under figures of speech which even the least learned can comprehend. For instance, instead of telling us that He has knowledge of His faithful ones and will never forget those who are His, and who diligently endeavor to know and to serve Him, He pictures the information, telling us in His Word that He has a "Book of Life" and a "Book of Remembrance." Through these figures we get the thought that He would have us get; namely, that He takes full knowledge of them that are His.
Then He encourages this class with the assurance that their love and devotion shall one day have its reward; that a great change is coming in His general dealings with the world of mankind; and that then every sigh, every tear and every sacrifice for righteousness' sake and for love of the Lord, for His Cause and for His brethren shall be rewarded in a manner that is beyond our present comprehension. This class, however, serve not for selfish reasons, but from devotion, [OV425] from fidelity and consequently from love; hence they shall find that the light afflictions of the present, which are only for a moment, are working out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, as they look not at the things now seen but at those now unseen--the eternal things.--2 Corinthians 4:17,18.
Without attempting to detail the riches of grace in reservation for them that love God, the Scriptures use two figures that are quite expressive to the eye and ear of faith--God's jewels, God's faithful sons. These two phrases suggest a full explanation of present experiences. The proper father will instruct, correct and discipline his son, although he may pass by the greater faults and blemishes of those who are not his children. As respects jewels, we all know the necessity for cutting and polishing them, to the intent that their real qualities may be developed. Thus the Church class see themselves in their Heavenly Father's School of discipline, in preparation to be His heirs--joint-heirs with Christ in His Kingdom. They see the necessity of the trials and perplexities and the persecutions of this present time, that they may be polished and prepared for the glorious future.--Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29.
The time for making up these jewels is the close of the Gospel Age. The faithful followers of our Lord Jesus from His day until now will all have part in the First Resurrection. All of the jewels now living will, when polished and found worthy, be "changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," to be with their Lord--the moment of their death being the moment of their change. These have no need to sleep in death; for the gathering time of the saints has come. They will be spared from passing through the culmination of the great Time of Trouble already begun.
Our Day the Close of the Age.
According to our best knowledge of the Word of God, we have now come down to the close of the Gospel Age. All about us we can see the foretold signs of our Lord's Second Presence and the end of the Age. To His Church our Lord Jesus said, "When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then lift up your heads; for your deliverance draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28,31.) We see "these things" coming to pass in the great war in Europe, in the mutterings of revolution among the nations, in the world-wide Zionist movement of the Jews, etc. The Church, the Bride of Christ, is almost complete. But we do not yet know how long it will be until we shall have finished our earthly course. That is for the Lord to determine.
"Faithful is He that hath called you, who will also do it." Our eye of faith has sighted the Prize of glory, honor, immortality and joint-heirship with Christ. "God hath given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these we might become partakers of the Divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4.) And we have been able to receive these promises. There is nothing that compares with them. The more we know of the great Divine Plan of the Ages and of the privileges which we may have in that Plan, the more we are enthused, the more we would glorify the Father and the Son, the more we rejoice together as brethren in the Body of Christ.
Those who have comprehended this Divine Plan for human salvation have an abundant theme, a never-ending theme, a theme which above all others will fill their hearts and their minds, and which will crowd out all worldly topics as not worthy of comparison. It will crowd out all complainings and murmurings, as wholly improper on the part of those who have been recipients of so many Divine favors and who have "much advantage everyway," in that they have delivered unto them the Divine Oracles. Especially is this true in view of our adoption into the family of God as sons, "joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together."
Let us, then, as true sons of God, remember [OV426] the importance of honesty-- "truth in the inward parts"--when we come together to study the Divine Word and to help one another as members of the Body of Christ. "Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory," but let each esteem the other greater than himself in saintliness, seeking to see in each other so far as possible, the noble, the good, the true; and let each seek to watch his own heart and to know his own blemishes. Thus shall personal humility and brotherly love keep pace with our growth in the knowledge of Divine things.
HOW READEST THOU?
LUKE 10:16. 'TIS one thing now to read the Bible through, Another thing to read, to learn and do; 'Tis one thing now to read it with delight, And quite another thing to read it right. Some read it with design to learn to read, But to the subject pay but little heed; Some read it as their duty once a week, But no instruction from the Bible seek; Whilst others read it without common care, With no regard to how they read or where. Some read it as a history, to know How people lived three thousand years ago. Some read to bring unto themselves repute, By showing others how they can dispute; Whilst others read because their neighbors do, To see how long 'twill take to read it through. Some read it for the wonders that are there, How David killed a lion and a bear; Whilst others read--or rather in it look-- Because, perhaps, they have no other book. Some read the blessed Book--they don't know why, It somehow happens in the way to lie; Whilst others read it with uncommon care, But all to find some contradictions there. One reads with father's specs upon his head, And sees the thing just as his father did; Another reads through Campbell or through Scott, And thinks it means exactly what they thought. Some read to prove a pre-adopted creed, Thus understand but little what they read; And every passage in the Book they bend To make it suit that all-important end. Some read the Book to find that God is love, Whilst others read--the opposite to prove Some people read, as I have often thought, To teach the Book, instead of being taught.
[OV427]
The Church's Hope--The World's Hope
By Pastor Russell, of Brooklyn
and London Tabernacles and
New York Temple
"That by two immutable things (His Word and His Oath), in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us; which Hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil."-- Hebrews 6:18,19. THERE is but one Hope set before the Church, says the Apostle in our text--the Hope presented in the Gospel of Christ. It is very important, then, that as Christians we understand what Hope is. Once we had such confused ideas respecting our Heavenly Father and His glorious Plan that we could not understand what constituted our Hope. Many supposed it was a Hope set before a few and a threat set before everybody else--the threat of endless torment. How we misunderstood "the God of all Grace and the Father of Mercies!" Now we can see that there is a glorious Hope for all who will come to love righteousness and hate iniquity, although the world's hope is not the Christian's hope.
The Hope set before the Church is the hope of reigning with Christ, as His joint-heirs, His Bride. (Romans 8:17, 1 John 3:2; 2 Peter 1:4.) It is the hope of attaining the Divine nature. This hope has been held out in advance of the blessings which will be proffered to the world later. The Church has no part in the hope of the world. But we have the admonition of our Lord and of His Apostles that we "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." We are enjoined to put off the works of darkness--anger, malice, hatred, strife and all other works of the flesh and of the Devil--and to put on meekness, gentleness, patience, brotherly kindness, love--the fruits of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit.-- Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 5:19-23.
First Intimation of Church's Hope.
The first intimation that God would raise up a class who would roll away the curse from Adam's race was given to Abraham. God said: "Abraham, I will call you My friend because of your faith." He could not call Abraham His son; for there could be no sons of God amongst the fallen race, because all were condemned to death in Adam. Not until the death sentence should be lifted from Adam's posterity could any of them become sons of God. Therefore, there were no human sons of God from Adam's day until our Lord Jesus came to earth a Man. He was the first human son of God after Adam. But since the time when our Lord died a Sacrifice for human sin, a special class of humanity have been given the great privilege of becoming sons of God, as St. John tells us.--John 1:12.
But God said to Abraham His friend: "I have a Plan by which to bless the world." The Almighty was the very One who had placed the condemnation of death upon the world. The great Judge had determined that man was not worthy of everlasting life. Two thousand years after He [OV428] had pronounced that curse, the Eternal One declared that it should be rolled away; for when He promised that a blessing should come to mankind, He implied that the death penalty should be removed.
It required great faith on Abraham's part to believe God in this matter. But he felt that in some manner God would roll away the curse. Put yourself into Abraham's place, and you will realize how remarkable this was. He knew that the death penalty was upon the race. After God had said that mankind should die, it was not easy to see how He could reverse His own sentence and declare that man should live! Would He say one thing at one time, and then two thousand years later say another? For a time there must have been great perplexity in Abraham's mind. But he appreciated God's promise.--Genesis 12:3; Romans 4:3.
And now, four thousand years after Abraham's time, we are proclaiming that same great Promise; for it has never yet been fulfilled. God promises to bless the whole world through Abraham's Seed. That Seed, the Apostle Paul assures us, is Christ and His Church. (Galatians 3:8,16,19.) The hope of being this Seed is the great Hope to which St. Paul refers in our text and its context.
Abraham's Two Seeds.
This Hope is based upon a comprehensive Promise; first, that the world was to be blessed; second, that this blessing was to come through Abraham's Seed. God showed that there would be two different seeds of Abraham; for He said, "Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the seashore"--a Heavenly and an earthly seed, though the Heavenly was to be the Seed of blessing. --Genesis 22:15-18.
Four hundred and thirty years later, God said to the children of Israel, in substance, "You know that I promised your Father Abraham that through his Seed I would bless the world. As his natural seed, are you ready to have that Promise fulfilled in you? If I bring you up out of Egypt, will you appreciate My will and do it?" And they replied: "We will." Then the Lord said: "I will give you My Law. If you cannot keep My Law you cannot be proper teachers and blessers of the world. I have promised to bless all mankind, and I will do it. As the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are you ready to be heirs of that Abrahamic Promise?"
You remember that Moses read the Lord's Message of the Law to the people; and that they heard the blessing that should come upon them if they would keep the Law, and the condemnation that should come upon them if they failed to do so. Then the people said, "All these things will we do."-- Exodus 19:1-8.
God designed that the whole world should come to a knowledge of the fact that no fallen human being could possibly keep the letter of the Divine Law; for it is the measure of a perfect man's ability. But He dealt with the Israelites just as though they could do it. They had typical sacrifices. For sixteen hundred years they tried to keep that Law; yet year after year they failed to do so, and hence they failed to be the Seed of Abraham which was to bless the world. As St. Paul shows us, "By the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight." (Romans 3:20.) God was merely teaching them, and through them all of His intelligent creatures, that it is impossible for sinners to justify themselves in His sight. Therefore, it was impossible for any of them to bless the world.
Then, in due time, God sent forth His First-Begotten Son, the Logos, His great Mouthpiece. To Him the Father had made the proposition that if He would become a man, live awhile on earth amongst sinners, and accomplish a great work for mankind, He should afterwards be received back to greater glory than He had before He undertook this mission.
The Son knew that if the Father [OV429] had anything to make known in His Plan, it must be for good. So we read that "the Logos was made flesh," and "for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame." (John 1:14; Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 2:8-11.) Jesus was born a descendant of Abraham, through the Virgin Mary. He kept the Jewish Law inviolate, and thus proved Himself worthy to be that Seed who would bless the world. He died to redeem the race--"the Just for the unjust." He rose again, qualified for the great work of the world's deliverance. To Him is given all power in Heaven and in earth.--Matthew 28:18.
The Bible tells us that the salvation of the world is waiting until our Lord shall take unto Himself His great power and reign. God has been holding this salvation in reserve for over 1800 years, during the selection of the Church, the Bride of Christ--the work of the Gospel Age. Before the Church He has set this great Hope of being associated with our Lord Jesus, of constituting with Him this Spiritual Seed of Abraham, which is to bless all the families of the earth. For this reason our Lord is first delivering the Church class. This hope of being the Seed of Abraham is "the hope set before us in the Gospel," of which our text speaks. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's Seed, and heirs according to the Promise."
God has still in reservation the work of blessing the world, and this great work of a thousand years. But it is now almost due to begin. The promised Spiritual Seed is about completed. Under them the earthly seed--the faithful worthies of previous ages, who will be raised from the dead, and Natural Israel, who will be restored to divine favor--will ere long be ready to cooperate; and then the world's uplift will begin.
Our Anchor Sure and Steadfast.
In the dream which God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, there was a stone taken out of the mountains without hands, and it became a great mountain that filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:31-45.) This stone represented Christ's Kingdom. The power which has taken this spiritual Stone out of the mountain--the world--is simply the hope inspired by God's Promise to Abraham. Some of us have heard the Call to follow Christ, and have responded. (Matthew 5:6; 11:28; 16:24.) The Word of Christ has entered into our hearts. Our minds, our aims, our ambitions--everything--are being transformed, are being set on Heavenly things.--Romans 12:1,2; Colossians 3:1-3.
How precious is this Hope! It is indeed "an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast." By this expression St. Paul suggests the picture of a ship at anchor during a storm. So in the storms of life the child of God has a firm anchorage. This Anchor of Hope takes hold even upon the things within the veil.
The basis of our hope is the Word of God. If we let go of our Hope, we are letting go of everything. The "hour of temptation" is now upon the whole world; and a still greater stress is coming. (Revelation 3:10.) All the more, therefore, shall we need our Anchor of Hope, of faith. Through the Prophet the Lord points out that He is about to "do His work, His strange work, and to bring to pass His act, His strange act." (Isaiah 28:21.) The world will not be able to understand it. As they see the trouble extending everywhere--to all governments and institutions--and realize that it will terminate in anarchy, they will say, Where is God? What is coming to this Great Babylon that we thought was about to bless the world? What is about to happen to us?
The Unsanctified Heart Selfish.
We are now living in the Day when the light is shining more brightly than ever before, and when the darkness is gradually disappearing. We whose eyes of understanding have been opened to see the hope for mankind, see that blessings are soon to be showered [OV430] upon the world during the Messianic Kingdom.
More and more it is impressed upon my mind that the numbers of humanity who love righteousness and who prefer it to unrighteousness are very considerable. The major part of the world would rather do right than wrong, provided it did not cost sacrifice to do right. If the world were in a healthy, normal condition, it would not cost sacrifice to do right. It should be easier to do right than wrong, and it would be if things were as they were originally. When God created our first parents, it was easier for them to obey than to disobey; and when the Divine Kingdom shall introduce the New Order, it will become easier to do right than to do wrong.
As the days go by, we see still more clearly the glorious hope of the groaning creation, groaning now in weakness, sin and bondage to death. After the Church is delivered, the groaning creation is also to be delivered, set free from the bondage of sin and death into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19-22.) Mankind will have the same opportunity for life that Adam had at first. But they will have the advantage of Adam, in that they have had six thousand years' experience under the degradation of the fall, during which the world has been learning the exceeding sinfulness of sin and their need of Divine assistance.
The Present Outlook.
Yet with all the experience of six thousand years behind us, the world to-day is plunged into the most terrible war ever known. Each nation imagines that God is with it. The spirit of anger, bitterness and hate is spreading everywhere, notwithstanding there are blessings, comforts and conveniences to-day such as the world never even dreamed of before. These blessings are coming because we are living in the dawn of the New Dispensation. But the fact is apparent that people are being injured by the wealth and other favors of our day. We have an increase of education far above any previous time. And what is the result? It is being used to defraud and overreach fellow-men. It is being utilized to destroy men's lives. In another century, if present conditions were permitted to continue, it would be worse.
Light and knowledge entering the heart that is unsanctified, unconsecrated to God, merely increase the power to do evil. Through sharpened intellectual perceptions the increase of ability operates along the lines of selfishness. The only ones ready to receive aright God's favors and to profit by them are those who have yielded themselves to God, who have renounced their own wills and have accepted his will. Upon these the blessings of God have a sanctifying effect. Increased knowledge adds to their power for good.
We are glad that we have given our hearts to God, and that our eyes of understanding have been opened to see more and more the lengths, breadths, heights and depths of God's Justice, Wisdom, Power and Love. How refreshing this is to our hearts! It is good to be so near to the ushering in of the New Dispensation; for our Anchor of Hope is grounded firmly in God. Soon He will deliver Zion-- "when Morning appeareth!"
Trouble Precursor of Coming Glory.
Upon the battlefields of Europe there is now being sacrificed the flower of the strength of every country embroiled in war; and the war spirit is spreading. In every country engaged in this mighty conflict the death list is piling up prodigiously. Homes are being devastated; wealth is being consumed. Revolution and anarchy will be sure to follow. Of this time our Lord Jesus declared, "Except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the Elect's sake they shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:21,22.) Then "the desire of all nations shall come." Through Messiah's Kingdom [OV431] shall be granted the peace, prosperity and blessing for which the poor world have so long hoped, and striven in vain to bring about through their own efforts.
Thank the Lord that He has given His people to know what is to follow this dark night of trouble. What a blessing He has granted in the knowledge that there is a golden lining to the black clouds now gathering thick around humanity! Let us not dwell too much on the coming trouble, however. Rather let us point men to the time beyond. Let us tell them that God has a great blessing in store for all the families of the earth. Let us show them how comprehensive is the Bible Hope. It will be a sad day for the world when the plowshare of trouble shall go in deep; yet the experience will prove to be a blessing. When mankind shall see everything beginning to collapse, then they will begin to realize that there is no hope except in God, then they will be willing to be taught. Then they will say, "Lo, this is our God! We have waited for Him, and He will save us!-- Isaiah 25:6-9.
HOW STRONG AND SWEET MY
FATHER'S CARE!
1 PETER 5:7.
HOW strong and sweet my Father's care!
The words, like music in the air,
Come answering to my whispered prayer--
He cares for thee.
The thought great wonder with it brings--
My cares are all such little things;
But to this truth my glad faith clings,
He cares for me.
Yea, keep me ever in Thy love,
Dear Father, watching from above,
And let me still Thy mercy prove,
And care for me.
Cast me not off because of sin,
But make me pure and true within,
And teach me how Thy smile to win,
Who cares for me.
O still, in summer's golden glow,
Or wintry storms of wind and snow,
Love me, my Father: let me know
Thy care for me.
And I will learn to cast the care
Which like a heavy load I bear
Down at Thy feet in lowly prayer,
And trust in Thee.
For naught can hurt me, shade or shine,
Nor evil thing touch me, nor mine,
Since Thou with tenderness Divine
Dost care for me.
[OV432]
Nations "Weighed in the Balances"
By Pastor Russell, Author of
"Studies in the Scriptures"
"The Lord your God proveth you." Deuteronomy 13:3. THE foregoing text is applicable to the Lord's people in a special way; yet as we look at the world to-day, we can recognize that the Lord is surely Judging the Nations, especially those that have been greatly blessed with His favor.
Consider Europe, for instance: How wonderfully those nations have been favored with opportunities for coming to a knowledge of the Lord! Ever since the days of Jesus and the Apostles, Europe has had Gospel privileges, more or less. Of course, we are not to hold the people of to-day responsible for anything in the past. To do so would be unfair. But we are to consider that in a general way the influences of Christianity have spread over the world, especially in Europe.
Gradually the world has come to esteem itself to be Christian. The nations of Europe are generally styled Christendom. Nevertheless, the Bible declares that the world is not Christian, and has not the Spirit of Christ in its activities. The world, therefore, is self-deceived. To the extent that the nations have had light, to that extent they are responsible. The Bible does not show, however, that the world has full responsibility. Only those have full responsibility who have taken the step of entire consecration to God through Christ, only those who have been begotten of the Holy Spirit. These have been illuminated and have come into the highest place of opportunity and blessing in the Lord. These have a deep insight into His Word that no others possess.
The World's Judgment Has Begun.
But so far as the world is concerned we can readily see that in proportion as they have seen, they should be required to do. We can feel quite sure that God would expect more of the peoples of Europe than of those of Asia and Africa, who have little knowledge of Him. So just at this time, when Bible chronology shows that God's leases of power to the Gentile governments has expired, we see exactly what we should expect--that He is permitting these nations to pass judgment upon themselves, so to speak. He is permitting them to show themselves, to manifest their real condition of mind and heart, to demonstrate whether or not they have made proper use of their opportunities and blessings in the way of development in righteousness.
The nations of Christendom have had much to say about the Lord. His name is to be found in all these countries. The nations have held aloft the Cross of Christ in an outward way. They have many places for prayer and worship. They have abounded in forms of godliness. They have had much wealth and treasure. They have had hosts of priests and preachers of all denominations. With all the advantages and experiences of the past nineteen centuries, we might have expected Europe to be in a much better condition than it is--that it would have learned much more than it has as to what is the Spirit of the Lord and what it is not.
Loosing the Four Winds.
God is now letting loose the winds of strife. He is letting the nations [OV433] take their own course, in order to prove to themselves and to others that they are not what they claim to be, and to humble them into the dust. Thus they will be brought to realize their own helplessness and their dire need of God.--Revelation 7:1-3.
As we look back over the past thousand years, we can see that God has been holding the peoples of the earth more or less under restraint, permitting them to go only so far at any time. Otherwise they would have destroyed themselves long ago. The hearts of fallen humanity are so selfish that, had mankind been permitted to go their full length, the race would have been annihilated long before now. But God's due time has come to let loose the winds of strife, with the result that the long-expected storm has burst in fury upon the world. The trouble is spreading from nation to nation; and it looks as if ultimately every nation will become involved--surely every one which formed part of the old Roman Empire. (Daniel 2:44.) Whether the strife will extend beyond the boundaries of the Roman rule we do not know--nor whether it will involve America.
Minds of the People Astray.
These United States have had many advantages over other countries. Our temporal blessings have been multiplied on every hand. Nevertheless, we must confess that there is much of mere outward forms of godliness here, much of ceremony, hypocrisy, dishonesty and crime. Great light has been given and largely ignored. Therefore it would seem that sooner or later our land may become involved in turmoil. There is much of Christian profession here, an outward form of godliness devoid of its power. Consequently it seems hardly possible that America will fail to escape full share in the judgment of the nations.
There is much restlessness amongst the people everywhere. Indeed, the whole world is becoming crazed as the angry passions of men are being stirred up against one another. In the countries at war where the soldiers in the trenches are killing one another by the thousands--sometimes sixty thousand in one day--necessarily a hardening influence goes with this course of action. The soldiers must become more or less benumbed in their sensibilities, as a natural result. As a whole, the world to-day seems to be telling the Lord, telling His people--who are not of this world--and telling the angels --who are looking on--what their spirit really is, and demonstrating that it is not the Spirit of the Lord.
It reminds us of the spirit of James and John, the two Apostles whom our Lord surnamed "Sons of Thunder," because of their courage and fiery zeal. On one occasion they wished to bring down fire from Heaven to destroy the people of a little Samaritan village because they had refused to sell bread to our Lord and The Twelve. But the Master reproved them saying, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of;" that is, they had become His disciples, but had not yet realized what is the spirit of a true disciple. It was, therefore, no wonder that they did things contrary to the Lord's Spirit.-- Luke 9:51-56.
After the disciples received the begetting of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they would not have even thought of doing such a thing; for then they received the Heavenly illumination and could discern that the Spirit of Christ prompted its possessor to help others, not to destroy them. Previous to Pentecost these disciples were zealous Jews, courageous in defense of what they thought right, as against wrong. And so it is now in Europe. Many are zealous, and are trying to find some good reason for what they are doing.
The leaders tell the people various things. In some cases the people are told that their liberties and the development of their country are held in check by jealous neighbors. On the other hand the people are led to think that militarism is their greatest foe, and therefore must be crushed. On both sides of the question at issue the [OV434] people seem to have hypnotized themselves into thinking that theirs is the righteous cause. But more and more it is being manifested that some great wrong is being promoted, that some great misconception is influencing the people.
Selfishness the Root of the Trouble.
The true explanation is that the Lord is judging the nations--letting them manifest their real condition. More and more the world is revealing just what is behind all this trouble which is spreading everywhere--selfishness. Note the case of Greece, for instance. What pressure was brought to bear upon that country to force her to enter the war contrary to her own will! Bribes have been held out to the various kingdoms--offers of certain territories, etc.--to induce them to take part in the conflict. There is almost an insanity behind it.
None of these nations see what Bible students see. They do not know that the Kingdom of God is just at the door, that the Reign of Righteousness is at hand. Therefore, they do not have the degree of responsibility that we have who do see. All know, however, that it is wrong to take life; and yet they are plotting both to take and to surrender life in order to hold a little more territory, or to gain some commercial advantage over their rivals. Everywhere selfishness is manifest. It has kept up rivalry between the nations for centuries. It has cost them billions of dollars in the way of preparation for war, and now it is costing them billions more to fight it out--besides the appalling loss of life, etc.
Desolation and Destruction.
We are not able to foretell all that will take place; so we leave the matter, merely knowing that the Lord has arranged to grant this great opportunity for the world to deceive themselves and to destroy themselves. The people are all more or less deluded. Many noble souls are going down into death under the impression that they are doing a good work for the coming generations.
Just so it is now with these professedly Christian nations. And now desolation is coming upon them, even as it came upon the Jews in the end of their Age. Bible students have expected this state of affairs to develop; for the Bible long ago foretold that it would be thus in our day.
Judgment of God's People.
If then God is now judging those who are only nominally His people, and permitting them to demonstrate that they are not His, will He not judge also His true people? Yes, God is now judging His people. (Hebrews 10:30.) But let us not wait for Him to judge us personally. Let us see to it that we are proving faithful to Him, faithful to our responsibilities as His children. Let us examine ourselves, and correct whatever we can find to be out of alignment with His instructions to us. Let us put some kind of chastisement upon ourselves in order that we shall not need to be corrected by Him, in order that we shall not be condemned with the world.
We have reached the "Time of the End," the close of the Gospel Age, and the dawning of the New Dispensation, the time when the judgments of the Lord are designed to accomplish a separating work, which is especially appropriate and needful at this period. Let us see to it, then, that we make our calling and election sure, preparatory to our association with our dear Lord in His great work of correcting the world in righteousness--"for He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet."--1 Cor. 15:25.
[OV435]
Life of Pastor Russell
By E. D. Stewart
PASTOR Charles Taze Russell
was born February 16, 1852, and
died Oct. 31, 1916, aged 64 years
8 months and 15 days. Thus in
years, months and days, we measure
the duration of his life; but measuring
the duration of a life is not measuring
the life.
"We live in deeds not years;
In thoughts, not breaths."
We can count the number of his years, but many a man has lived longer to whom mankind owes no debt of gratitude. We can count the number of his days, but the value of a day depends upon what is put into it. One day may be worth a thousand other days, and how much he accomplished in those 64 years we can only begin to know when we learn the intensity with which he lived them.
In testimony meetings, thousands all over our land and in every land under the sun, bear witness to their gratitude to God that he has raised up a man who has been the instrument in his land of snatching them from the very brink of doubt and infidelity, placing their feet on the solid rock of Christ's "ransom for all." Some of these men simply could not believe the Bible as interpreted by their religious teachers. They would not say they believed when they did not. They did not wish to be infidels, and they bewailed their lack of faith and hope. You need not tell me that normally constituted men are infidels from choice. You need not tell me that normally constituted men deliberately choose to believe and are glad to believe that they die as the brutes, with no hope of a future life. Many of these men are infidels not so much from their own fault as from the fault of their religious teachers who gave them an interpretation of the Bible contrary to reason and impossible for them to believe. Many a man in this attitude has gone to hear Pastor Russell. They have gone to the service infidels and came back rejoicing Christians. Their religious teachers kept saying: "Don't go to hear that man Russell; he preaches dangerous doctrine." But, by the grace of God, they went and received the spiritual food they had been starving for, the spiritual food their religious teachers did not know how to give. It is no wonder that men would sometimes stand in a crowded aisle and listen to his inspiring words for two hours at a time without moving from their places --no wonder, when those words were bringing hope instead of despair, faith in the place of doubt, peace in the place of agitation and unrest, joy in the place of sadness.
When men with heart full of gratitude would tell him of the blessings they had received, he would simply say something like this: "Brother, I am glad you received blessing from God's word; his truth is very precious." He simply ignored his part in the matter. In proof that this was his attitude, hear his own words, as found on page 10 of his celebrated book, "The Divine Plan of the Ages."
"Though in this work we shall endeavor, and we trust with success, to set before the interested and unbiased reader the plan of God as it relates to and explains the past, the present and the future of his dealings, in a way more harmonious, beautiful and reasonable than is generally understood, yet that this is the result of extraordinary [OV436] wisdom or ability on the part of the writer, is positively disclaimed. It is the light from the Sun of Righteousness in this dawning of the Millennial Day that reveals these things as present truth, etc."
He believed that the time was due for these truths to be made known, and if he had not written them, God would have found some one else to do so.
One of the great objects of his life was to show that the Bible, when correctly translated and rightly understood is harmonious throughout, and gives the most exalted and uplifting conception of our Creator and our duties to him that is possible for a human being to attain. To show this complete harmony of the Bible, of all its parts, was no easy task. It meant labor. At that time there was great indifference on the part of the people. Most of them did not seem to care whether the various texts of the Bible were in harmony with one another or not. Each seemed more interested in seeking such texts as prove or seemed to prove his particular creed, and ignored such texts as oppose it. Even ministers, when texts were brought to their attention that contradicted their creed, would make such remarks as: "Oh, don't trouble yourself about such matters as that. There is enough in the fifth chapter of Matthew to save anybody." They were merely seeking such knowledge as they thought would save them and their friends, and seemed utterly indifferent as to what truth honors God most. In 1st Sam. 2:30 the Lord says, "Them that honor me, I will honor." This promise is not to those who carry on some great work of charity or make some great attempt to convert the world, for these things are often done in such a way as to dishonor God. Many are engaged in these things; few make it the chief object of their lives to do those things and to preach those doctrines that bring most honor to God's name. Most men seem utterly indifferent on this matter.
At a time when such indifference was widely prevalent, Pastor Russell began his work of showing the harmony of the Bible with itself and with the character of its Divine Author. He saw that there is no way to bring permanent blessing to the human race except through faith in God and faith in the Bible. He, therefore, sought to show how worthy the Bible is of all our faith and love. That was the great motive of his life. We know that this was his motive, not because he has told us so, but because the motive rings through every article that he wrote and every sermon that he preached. A motive like that could not live in a narrow life. It could not find room in a little heart.
Therefore it is natural for us, as thoughtful men and women, to inquire, "What were the events of his life and the various circumstances leading up to such a motive? What must his childhood, his boyhood and his early manhood have been?"
Charles T. Russell was the second son of Joseph L. and Ann Eliza Russell, and was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. His father was a well-to-do merchant, and the son, when not engaged in study, spent much of his time helping his father in the store. By so doing, he rendered himself liable to the awful charge that certain ministers in various parts of the country have brought against him, that in his early life he was "a seller of shirts." In this work, however, he developed the qualities of industry, perseverance and earnestness of purpose, qualities that have been such prominent characteristics of his mature years. As the father was a very successful business man, it was only natural for the son also to begin business as a merchant. In this work the young man manifested such business acumen that, in a few years, he was the owner of five clothing stores. In all this work he was so thoroughly honest and his goods so thoroughly reliable that his success was marvelous, so marvelous that some who then knew him believe that if he had continued in the mercantile business he might have rivaled in the accumulation of wealth some of the richest money kings [OV437] of his day. But his great desire was not to be rich, but to be useful. We need not tell you this, you may know it for yourself when you consider the following facts:
At one time in his life, while he was yet a young man, the valuation of his real and personal property is said to have reached over $200,000. Of this $40,000 were spent in the publication and circulation of his first book, "Food for Thinking Christians." At various times he contributed large amounts to the Society of which he was president. In fact at the time of his death he had but $200 left of his own private fortune. Notwithstanding this fact, there have been men so ignorant of the facts in the case, or had so little regard for truth and veracity as to say: "Russell has just started this religious movement as a money-making scheme." The utter foolishness of such a statement could not be fully manifest to persons unacquainted with the manner in which the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is operated. The very idea of a company of men getting rich preaching the gospel without money and without price, while their friends at the various appointments advertised the meetings "Seats free; no collection." The truth of the matter is that those ministers who have done this talking about "money making scheme" concerning Pastor Russell have simply been "measuring his corn in their own half-bushel." A man whose own life is actuated by low motives cannot appreciate a higher motive in another man.
In all of Pastor Russell's work, and in all the work of the Society including missionary work, translation of the books into all the important modern languages, exhibition of the Photo Drama of Creation, etc., not one penny was ever solicited and no collection was ever taken. That, of course, does not mean that money has not been liberally contributed, but every contribution is and must be absolutely voluntary and unsolicited. Two years ago last summer in the northern part of Pennsylvania, a little girl eight years old came to me after the services and said: "Here is five cents to help other little boys and girls to see the Photo Drama." The five cents were forwarded to the Watch Tower office, along with larger contributions, and in the course of a few days the proper officer of the Society sent her a receipt with just the same care that a $50 contribution in a neighboring town was receipted for.
Pastor Russell was a man of great faith, and he always had perfect confidence that money would be forthcoming for every work that the Lord wanted done. On one occasion, after he had spoken to a large audience, he was shaking hands with the people as they passed out, when a man handed him an envelope. He put it into his pocket and went on shaking hands. After a few minutes some of the brethren were consulting with him concerning some work that all agreed would be good to have done; "but where was the money to come from?" Brother Russell said: "If it is a work the Lord wants done, he will see that the money is provided." He opened the envelope. It contained a check for one thousand dollars, and the work went on.
Men have sometimes come to him and said: "Brother Russell, I have been greatly blessed by your explanation of the Scriptures. I feel that this is a great work. How can I get some money into it?" This may sound strange to men who all their lives have been dunned for money "to pay the preacher," but "Truth is stranger than fiction." "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. The cattle on a thousand hills are his," and he does not need money that must be begged for or raffled for at box socials or church fairs.
His "Divine Plan of the Ages" has a circulation several times that of any other book ever published in the English language except the Bible. He is the author of five other principal books and of numerous booklets and tracts. He is also the author of the "Photo Drama of Creation," which has been seen and heard by over nine millions [OV438] of people. His sermons of recent years have appeared regularly every week in over a thousand newspapers, and are read by millions of people.
While Pastor Russell had his friends and admirers he also had his enemies and persecutors. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." So if any one is not suffering persecution he is not living godly in Christ Jesus. When you read that a certain man did not have an enemy in the world, you have found a man that never steadfastly and earnestly opposed the wrong. On the other hand, every man that has done anything earnestly to free the race from wrong and error and superstition has had his opposers and persecutors. Christ and all his apostles save one suffered martyrdom for the truth they preached, and from that day to this, every man who stood for unpopular truth and against popular error has had his persecutors. So Pastor Russell has likewise had his persecutors who tried to minimize his work, burned his books and attempted to destroy his good name. Yes, they sometimes burned his books, and they did so for the very same reason that they used to burn the Bibles; they were afraid of the truth there was in them. But the more they burned the books, the more the truth spread. I had the pleasure a few months ago of speaking in a town where, not long before, some of the religionists had got together and agreed to advise the people to burn Pastor Russell's books. In a few weeks colporteurs came into the town and sold far more books than had been burned. The bigots who had burned the books had merely aroused the curiosity of the people. In the Dark Ages they sometimes sought to terrify the people by burning the Bibles in the streets, and thus compel them to submit to the prescribed forms of religion, the "Orthodox" forms. There is too much of the spirit of liberty and tolerance in free America for such an indignity to be perpetrated to-day without arousing a sense of justice in the minds of those who hate tyranny.
It is interesting to note how the books have found their way through the hands of those who did not appreciate them into the hands of those who did. It often happens that one man buys and does not appreciate them, then loans them to another man who enjoys them with all his heart. At one of the conventions, a lady tells us that a friend sent her "The Divine Plan of the Ages" and she burned it. Another friend sent her a second book of the same kind, and she burned it. A third friend sent her a third book, and she stopped and thought. It is sometimes a good thing to stop and think. "Finally," says she, "I read this book and it burned me." By this, I suppose, she means that it burned away all her prejudice and left her ready for the heart-glow of joy that comes to those who see what beautiful truth God has in store for those who are ready to enjoy it.
The parents of Charles T. Russell were of the "orthodox" faith, and up to the age of fifteen he believed all and only such doctrines as his sectarian ministers took the trouble to teach him. To fully understand doctrines at that time was very difficult. The clergy as a rule discouraged questions. So he simply believed the doctrines of the church he attended, especially the doctrine of the eternal torment of all except the saints. His favorite teacher was Spurgeon, because, as he said, "he peppered it hot," his claim being that if one believed a thing he should tell it with all his might. So at the age of fifteen he used to go about the city of Pittsburg on Saturday evenings with a piece of chalk writing on the fence boards and telling the people not to fail to attend church on Sunday, so that they might escape that terrible hell in which he so firmly believed. At about this time it seems that Providence had decreed that he should attempt to reclaim an infidel friend to Christianity. By skillful questions that neither layman or minister could answer and hold to the accepted creed, the infidel completely routed young Russell, and he became [OV439] a skeptic. He saw, for instance, that with the doctrine of eternal torment in it he could not believe the Bible; though he still held to a belief in God and the hope of a future life.
As he desired to learn the truth in regard to the hereafter, the next few years were devoted to the investigation of the claims of the leading Oriental religions, all of which he found unworthy of credence. At the age of twenty he was possessed of much knowledge and voluminous data in regard to "religion" as believed and practiced in all parts of the world, but his mind was unsatisfied and unsettled.
At length he decided to search the Scriptures for their own answer on hell-fire and brimstone. Here was the turning point in his life. Picture to yourself a young man in the early twenties with large business responsibilities upon him, and with little time for research, and yet longing to know the truth in regard to the great hereafter. He believed that the Creator of all things must be a loving God, and in harmony with this he read in the Bible, "God is love." He also read, "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." That too was in harmony with what he believed the character of the Creator must be. But how could he harmonize this with what his creed taught? How could God's tender mercies be over all his works when some of his works, some of his creatures, were to be roasted eternally in an abyss of fire and terrors? How could there be any "tender mercies" in a course like that? How could our loving Creator be a God like that? Then the question came, Does the Bible really teach the eternal torture of the unsaved?
As he searched the Scriptures for the answer, the answer came. Not one text, merely, but texts by the hundreds showing the foolishness and unreasonableness of the doctrine of eternal torment. We do not know the order in which these texts came to his mind, but we know that they came. He read, "The Lord preserveth all them that love him" (Yes, he preserveth them, to all eternity) "but all the wicked will be destroyed." It does not say "All the wicked will he roast eternally." Again he reads, "He that converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death," not from eternal torment. Again he reads "The soul that sinneth it shall die," not live in torment eternally. In fact, he saw that all the comparisons and contrasts in the Bible are never between life in happiness and life in misery, but always between life and death, eternal life or eternal death, all the wicked utterly destroyed in what the Scriptures call "the second death," so completely destroyed that "they shall be as though they had not been," and even "the remembrance of the wicked shall rot," utterly pass from the memory of all forever. Then this young man saw God finally triumphant over all evil, when "at his name every knee shall bow," when "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father." So he saw the whole glad universe uniting in one grand hymn of praise to the Creator, no room in that happy universe for men or demons who choose to remain in rebellion against the Creator, but all ready to join in a hymn of praise. Then this young man saw a loving God looking down upon a sin-cursed earth with an eye of pity and love, and in order to make it possible for us to have eternal life, he must give what was dearest to him in the whole universe. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not die eternally but live eternally." When, as a young man, Charles T. Russell saw all this and far more, his great heart was thrilled to its very depths. He was ready to do anything for the God he had found to be so wise, so loving, so wonderful. It was then that he gave his heart to the Lord in full consecration, ready to do or say or be whatever the Lord might show him. Little [OV440] did he care for wealth, or fame, or worldly pleasure. He had found a better God than he before had known, and he must tell it, and he did tell it out with a shout, hallelujah! Praise God's holy name, that he has found a man strong enough, true enough, brave enough to vindicate His character from the unscriptural and unreasonable doctrine of eternal torment. To the very ends of the earth he has told the Bible truth that "the wages of sin is death," and not eternal torment. Yes, and his words have been heard, heard by many who will not admit that they have heard, believed by many who will not admit that they believe. A few years ago a minister who was then preaching in this country was asked by one of his parishioners if he believed the doctrine of eternal torment. He admitted that he did not. "Then why do you preach it?" asked the parishioner. "Oh, there has to be some kind of a whip to bring them in," was the reply. A minister who used to preach in Waynesburg made the same admission to one of his parishioners. "Then why don't you tell your congregation so?" said the parishioner. "If I did that, I could not hold this pastorate," was the reply. A minister of Washington, Pa., made the same admission. The young man said to the minister: "Then, why don't you tell your congregation? He replied: "Young man, my bread isn't buttered on that side." That is the very class of men that are circulating false reports about Pastor Russell and other men who are opposing their false doctrines.
"Yes, but in regard to Pastor Russell's character, the people say__________" Yes, "the people say" and "the people said" are the cudgels with which Satan has destroyed the reputation of many an innocent man. A few years ago, W. W. Giles, a leading financier of Brown Summit, N.C., made the following offer and published it broadcast wherever the English language is spoken:
"I have deposited $1,000 in the American Exchange National Bank of Greensboro, N.C., and $500 in the First National Bank of Miami, Florida, to be paid to the first person who proves through any court of justice in the United States that Pastor Russell is guilty of immorality such as is the gossip of those ministers who preach 'for pay.'" No one ever responded.
The editor of the Evening Journal of Wilmington, Del., about two years ago, published a statement that his columns were open to the publication of anything that might be published against Pastor Russell's character, provided the whole truth was stated with all the related circumstances and accompanied by the writer's name. Why did none of Pastor Russell's defamers respond to this fair offer?
The people say! The people said! Satan's weapon now; Satan's weapon always. The people said that Jesus was a blasphemer. His friends on one occasion "went out to lay hold on him, for they said, He is beside himself." The people said that the apostles were unfit to live, and put them to death. The people said that the noble John Huss was unfit to live, and when they burned him at the stake, they confined a ball of brass in his mouth, in order, as the historian states, "that the people might not understand his just defense against their unjust condemnation." The people said that the brave Savonarola was a heretic and they hanged him and afterwards burned his body in reproach.
The people said that the noble Alexandre Campbell was a "heretic." "He is not orthodox." "He is little better than an infidel." The people said that the brave and true John Wesley was a "falsifier," "a fomenter of strife," "a breeder of contention." They talked about the jealousy of his wife against Sarah Ryan, the jealousy against him of the husband of Sophia Christiana Williamson and how his wife finally deserted him. Does what the people say, weaken our confidence in the purity of John Wesley's life? By no means. The only difficulty was that he was so pure-minded himself that he forgot to guard himself well against impure minds who were watching to [OV441] find a charge against him. John Wesley, Alexander Campbell, Charles T. Russell, three of the bravest, purest men of modern times and the three most severely persecuted and slandered. Do we believe those slanders? Not if we are charitable, thoughtful and wise. Their names will go down in history together as the three greatest and truest reformers of the last two hundred years. We have only space to conclude with a quotation from Judge Rutherford:
From a personal and painstaking examination of every charge that has been made against Pastor Russell, I am thoroughly convinced and confidently state that he is the most unjustly persecuted man on earth. Notwithstanding this, his good work continues, and thousands testify to the blessings received therefrom. For many years he has stood forth to battle for the right. He is prematurely aged from his arduous and unselfish labors in behalf of mankind. He is loved most by those who know him best, and while he has some relentless enemies, his staunch and substantial friends are numbered by the thousands.
When the memory of his traducers has perished from the earth, the good name and good deeds of Pastor Russell will live immortal in the hearts of the people.
WILL HIS WORK ENDURE?
WILL "that Servant's" work endure?
Ah, yes! Of this we may be sure:
For he was faithful, wise and true
And brought forth truths, both old and new.
Though Satan's error now enshrouds
And hides the light with darkest clouds,
Our God will shake and then remove
All things that He cannot approve.
"Truth crushed to earth shall rise again"
And in its purity remain,
Unconquered by the Devil's arts
In even its minutest parts.
Will "that Servant's" work endure?
Ah, yes, with all that's good and pure!
For sin and error flee away
Before the light of coming Day!
[OV442]
The Late Pastor Russell
Biographical Sketch by His Successor
J. F. Rutherford
"Pastor Russell's writings are said to have greater newspaper circulation every week than those of any other living man; a greater, doubtless, than the combined circulation of the writings of all the priests and preachers in North America; greater even than the work of Arthur Brisbane, Norman Hapgood, George Horace Lorimer, Dr. Frank Crane, Frederick Haskins, and a dozen other of the best known editors and syndicate writers put together." --The Continent.
CHARLES Taze Russell, known the world over as Pastor Russell, author, lecturer and minister of the Gospel, was born at Pittsburg, Pa., February 16, 1852; died October 31, 1916. He was a son of Joseph L. and Eliza Birnie Russell, both of Scotch-Irish descent. He was educated in the common schools and under private tutors. He was married in 1879 to Maria Frances Ackley. No children blessed this union. Eighteen years later a disagreement arose about the management of his journal, and a separation followed. Pastor Russell was the author of the following publications:
Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return; Food for Thinking Christians; Tabernacle Shadows; The Divine Plan of the Ages; The Time is at Hand; Thy Kingdom Come; The Battle of Armageddon; The Atonement Between God and Man; The New Creation; What Say the Scriptures About Hell; What Say the Scriptures About Spiritualism; Old Theology Tracts; The Photo-Drama of Creation; Etc., Etc.
Reared under the influence of Christian parents, at an early age young Russell became interested in theology, uniting himself with the Congregational Church, and became active in local mission work. His instructors believed and taught the old style "Hell-fire" doctrine. At the age of fifteen his boyish zeal, in an endeavor to restore a young infidel friend, cost him his faith in the Bible. At the age of 17 he had become a skeptic. This was due to the inability of his religious teachers to substantiate the doctrine of a literal lack of fire and brimstone. This doctrine of eternal torment of all mankind except the few elect became very abhorrent to him, and he said: "A God who would use His power to create human beings whom He foreknew and predestined should be eternally tormented, could be neither wise, just nor loving; His standard would be lower than that of men." He continued to believe, however, in the existence of God, but was unwilling to accept the commonly understood teachings as God's revelation of Himself to man.
During the next few years, while growing up into commercial life, he devoted much time to the investigation of Buddhism, Confucianism, and other Oriental religions, only to find all these unworthy of credence. "Which is the true Gospel?" became a living question in his inquiring mind, and although [OV443] he was now well on the way, commercially, to fame and fortune, he decided that he would investigate the Scriptures and let the Bible speak for itself on the question of future punishment. This was the beginning of a new ambition.
Pastor Russell's Teachings.
Naturally of a reverent mind, desiring to worship and serve the true God, Mr. Russell reasoned, "All the creeds of Christendom claim to be founded on the Bible, and these are conflicting. Is it possible that the Bible has been misrepresented? It may not teach the terrible doctrine of eternal torment." Turning then to the Bible, he determined to make a careful, systematic study of it without reference to creeds of men. The result was the full establishment of his faith in the Bible as God's Word. The remainder of his life was wholly devoted to teaching the Bible, writing and publishing religious books and papers, lecturing and proclaiming the Message of Messiah's Kingdom. He was the greatest religious teacher since St. Paul, and did more than any other man of modern times to establish the faith of the people in the Scriptures. His aim was to reach, if possible, every Truth-seeker --Catholic, Protestant, Jew and Free-thinker. He stood entirely free from all sectarian bonds. His work was wholly independent.
Pastor Russell was not the founder of a new religion, and never made such claim. He revived the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles, and turned the light of the twentieth century upon these. He made no claim of a special revelation from God, but held that in the light of the prophecies it was doubtless God's due time for the Bible to be understood, and that all fully consecrated to the Lord and His service would therefore be permitted to understand it. Because he devoted himself to the development of the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Lord was fulfilled in him: "For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."--2 Peter 1:5-8.
He clearly taught, and proves his teachings by the citation of Scriptural authority,
That man is a soul and is mortal;
That he does not possess an immortal soul;
That the wages of sin is death--not eternal torment;
That death comes upon man as the just penalty for the violation of God's Law;
That death means the destruction of man, unless a release can be obtained;
That God, in His goodness, has provided the great Ransom-price whereby man may be delivered from the bondage of sin and death;
That God's beloved Son, Jesus, became flesh and grew to manhood's estate, was put to death as a man and raised from the dead a spirit being, possessing the Divine nature;
That by His death and resurrection Christ Jesus secured and provided the Ransom-price for man's deliverance and restoration; that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man;
That every man in God's due time must, therefore, have a fair trial for life, and that to this end there shall be an awakening of all the dead;
That Jesus Christ returned into Heaven and must come the second time;
That the period of time elapsing between the First and the Second Coming of the Lord is devoted to the election of the members of the Body of Christ, taken from among men;
That the requirements for election to that exalted position are, full faith in the shed blood of Jesus as the Ransom-price, a full consecration to do the Father's will, and a faithful continuance in obedience to the Father's will even unto death;
That all who are thus consecrated and begotten of the Holy Spirit and are overcomers shall have part in the First, or Chief Resurrection, and be [OV444] exalted to positions in the Heavenly Kingdom of God and participate with Christ Jesus in the Divine nature and His Millennial Reign for the blessing of all the families of the earth;
That during the thousand year Reign of Christ, all of the dead shall be awakened, and given a fair and impartial trial for life or death as human beings;
That under said Reign, and at its close, the wilfully disobedient shall be everlastingly destroyed, while those rendering heart-obedience to the righteous rule of Christ shall be fully restored to human perfection of body, [OV445] mind and character;
That during this Millennial Reign the earth shall be brought to a state of Edenic Paradise, and made fit as a habitation for perfect man;
That man, fully restored to perfection, will inhabit the beautiful earth during all the ages to come.
Pastor Russell's Work.
Seeing that God has so wonderful a Plan for the blessing of mankind, Pastor Russell gave all of his power and energy to making known these great truths to the world. He never took a vacation; he worked constantly until the day of his death.
Like other Christians he was looking for the Second Coming of Christ. Between 1872 and 1876 he discovered that the Scriptures clearly teach that the Lord would return as a spirit being, invisible to human eyes, not in a body of flesh, and that His Second Presence was due in the autumn of 1874. This led to the publication of a booklet entitled "The Object and Manner of Our Lord's Return," which had a phenomenal sale.
Many students of the Bible throughout the United States and Canada responded to the information derived from that book, and Pastor Russell's correspondence became voluminous. Realizing the necessity of keeping the Truth before the minds of those who had begun to investigate, in 1879, he began the publication of "The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence," and was its sole editor to the time of his death. This journal is issued semi-monthly; it never publishes advertisements, but is devoted exclusively to religious topics. Among the English speaking people in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, its semi-monthly circulation is 45,000 copies. It is also published in German, French, Swedish, Dano-Norwegian and Polish, reaching a large number of subscribers in America and Europe.
Pittsburgh Headquarters Too Small.
In 1884, in Allegheny, Pa., now a part of Pittsburgh, he organized and incorporated the "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society," of which he was President until the time of his death. By the spring of 1909 the business of the Society had expanded to such proportions in America and abroad that a closer location to Europe was found necessary, and headquarters were transferred to Brooklyn, N.Y.
Purchases Henry Ward Beecher's
Home.
It was by the merest accident that the Henry Ward Beecher mansion, at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, came into the possession of the Society, and Pastor Russell continued to use the home of Brooklyn's world famed pulpit orator as his study and residence until his death.
It was to this very study that Lincoln, while President of the United States, and during the trying days of the rebellion, paid a secret midnight visit to the Pastor of Plymouth Church about his going abroad on a lecture tour to change the sentiment of the British and enlist it in behalf of the Union.
Pastor Russell's Wide Propaganda.
Pastor Russell was not only President of the "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society," the parent organization, but was also President of the "People's Pulpit Association," organized as a New York State Corporation in 1909, and of the "International Bible Students' Association," incorporated in Great Britain, London, in 1913. These latter corporations were branches of the parent society, and were incorporated to comply with certain legal requirements of the different localities. Through these religious corporations, as well as by word of mouth from the platform and pulpit, Pastor Russell promulgated the Gospel of Messiah's Kingdom. The following publications, written by him between the years 1881 and 1914, each had a phenomenal circulation, as given below: "Food for Thinking Christians"....1,450,000 "Tabernacle Shadows"..............1,000,000 "Divine Plan of the Ages".........4,817,000 [OV446] "The Time is at Hand".............1,657,000 "Thy Kingdom Come"................1,578,000 "Battle of Armageddon"............ 472,000 "The Atonement"................... 445,000 "The New Creation"................ 423,000 "What Say the Scriptures About Hell?".....................3,000,000
Pastor Russell was also the author of the "Photo-Drama of Creation," which, prior to his death, had been exhibited to about twelve millions of people. He wrote and published the scenario of this photo-drama, which has had a very wide circulation. His publications are translated into thirty-five different languages. At the same time he was pastor of more than 1,200 congregations of Bible students in different parts of the world. Some of these he visited whenever possible, and served the others by means of "The [OV447] Watch Tower" and private correspondence.
He organized and conducted a Lecture Bureau which constantly employed many lecturers, who traveled and delivered lectures on the Scriptures, as well as giving instruction to Bible students. He organized and managed an auxiliary lecture bureau of several hundred men who gave a portion of their time to lecturing on Bible teachings. He wrote practically all the copy for the "Bible Students' Monthly," the annual circulation of which amounted to many million copies.
His weekly sermons were handled by a newspaper syndicate. More than 2,000 newspapers, with a combined circulation of fifteen million readers, at one time published his discourses. All told, more than 4,000 newspapers published these sermons.
"The Continent," a publication whose editor often opposed Pastor Russell, once published the following significant statement concerning him:
"His writings are said to have greater newspaper circulation every week than those of any other living man; a greater, doubtless, than the combined circulation of the writings of all the priests and preachers in North America; greater even than the work of Arthur Brisbane, Norman Hapgood, George Horace Lorimer, Dr. Frank Crane, Frederick Haskins, and a dozen other of the best known editors and syndicate writers put together."
Harvest Work.
Pastor Russell adhered strictly to the teachings of the Scriptures. He believed and taught, as before mentioned, that we are living in the time of the Second Presence of our Lord Jesus, and that His Presence dates from 1874 (see his book, "The Time of the End"); that since that time we have been living in the "end of the Age," during which the Lord has been conducting His great Harvest work; that, in harmony with the Master's own statement, this Harvest work is separating true Christians, designated as "wheat," from merely professing Christians, designated as "tares," and gathering the true saints into the Kingdom of the Lord.
It is interesting here to note that Jesus said, "Who then (at the time referred to) is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over His household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when He cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that He will make him ruler over all that He hath." (Luke 12:42-44; Matt. 24:45-47.) Thousands of the readers of Pastor Russell's writings believe that he filled the office of "that faithful and wise servant," and that his great work was the giving to the Household of Faith the "meat in due season." His modesty and humility precluded him from claiming this title. For a more detailed account of his work, reference is made to "The Watch Tower" of June 1st, 1916.
Pastor Russell made frequent trips abroad. In 1892 he made a trip to Europe and the Holy Land, taking in various countries and lecturing in the interests of the great work. In 1910 he again visited Palestine, Russia and European countries, delivering lectures to thousands of orthodox Jews on the re-gathering of the Jews to Palestine. Upon his return to America, in October of that year, he was given a great ovation at the New York City Hippodrome by many thousands of Jews. His discourse on that occasion was published by Hebrew papers throughout America and Europe. He was greatly beloved by many Jewish people. In the fall of 1911 he was the chairman of a committee of seven who made a journey around the world and specially examined into the conditions of the missionary work in Japan, Korea, China, Syria and India. At a public mass meeting held at the New York Hippodrome in the spring of 1912, to hear the report of this committee, Pastor [OV448] Russell delivered the report and gave a discourse which stirred the missionary world from center to circumference.
Still later he made annual or semi-annual tours to Great Britain, visiting the London congregation and many others of which he was Pastor, and delivering various public addresses at Royal Albert Hall, London's largest auditorium; St. Andrew's Hall in Glasgow, and in many other cities, including Edinburgh and Liverpool. His addresses elicited many favorable comments from the British press. Wherever he spoke it was usually in the largest auditoriums and to record audiences. These tours in Great Britain ended only when the present great war rendered further visits impracticable. He made many preaching tours from the Atlantic to the Pacific and throughout Canada. It was while on a lecture tour from coast to coast that Pastor Russell's wonderful life came suddenly to a close, while traveling on an express train near Canadian, Texas, on the 31st day of last October. He literally died in the harness, continuing to the end through increasing pain and weariness to prosecute the great work to which he had been called by the Lord. He died as heroically as he had lived, his faith in God holding firmly unto the end.
During the 42 years of Pastor Russell's Christian work he never directly or indirectly solicited money. No collection was ever taken up at any meeting addressed by him or any of his associates for himself or for his work. He had faith that the Lord would supply sufficient money to carry on the work; that the work was the Lord's and not man's. The fact that voluntary contributions were liberally made by many persons throughout the world proved that his conclusions were correct.
He devoted his private means entirely to the cause to which he gave his life. He received the nominal sum of $11.00 per month for his personal expenses. He died leaving no estate whatsoever. Like all great leaders of thought, especially pertaining to the Scriptures, he was, as was his Master, misunderstood by some, and therefore misrepresented.
At his death his remains were shipped to New York, where they lay in state in the Temple in New York City, the property of the Society and the place where his lectures were given when at home. There thousands looked upon him for the last time, as his body lay embowered in magnificent floral offerings sent in by loving hearts from all over the country. The entire Temple was decorated with a rich profusion of the most beautiful flowers. His funeral was attended by a great audience gathered to pay their last tribute of love and esteem to the great and good man whom they so loved and revered. It was a most notable occasion. The speakers gave glowing tribute to his life and work.
The body was then taken to North Pittsburgh, the scene of his earlier life and labors, where a second notable funeral service was held in Carnegie Hall, where interment took place in the Bethel plot in the United Cemeteries, the casket being encased in a sunken vault. The path to the grave was lined with flowers.
Thus closed the career of a most remarkable man, who was beloved by perhaps more people than any other man during the Age. He was loved most by those who knew him best.
LIGHTS ALONG THE SHORE
A LIGHT shone out in the cold and din,
And a hope rose high where despair had been.
And the danger passed in that trying hour,
Though they never knew in the lighthouse tower.